


Pricefield - Time Warriors

by VietnamVet



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Badass Chloe, Badass Max, Depression, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Pirates of Arcadia Bay, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Time Warriors
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2020-07-18 00:01:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 96,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19965397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VietnamVet/pseuds/VietnamVet
Summary: When faced with two equally undesirable choices, Max & Chloe pick a third option. To go back and re-do the Week of Hell once more, and this time they know what's coming. The self-proclaimed Pirates of Arcadia Bay have returned and are out for payback against everyone and everything that wronged them, their friends, and their town. You messed with the wrong Time Warriors.





	1. The Third Option

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! Long time no see. Sorry about that. My mental health kinda ruined my interest in writing, and though it hasn't gone away much at all, I wanted to see if I could get back into it again. So here's a new Fic for you! Apologies if I'm a little rusty, feedback and comments are greatly appreciated! Also, in regards to my previous two unfinished Fics, don't worry, I still intend to continue them both at some point, provided my crippling anxiety and depression allow me to.
> 
> But until then, welcome to: "Pricefield - Time Warriors".
> 
> (Alternate Title: "The Pirates of Arcadia Bay".)
> 
> Enjoy! :)

**Pricefield - Time Warriors**

**Chapter 1: The Third Option**

Max Caulfield stood on the clifftop beside the Lighthouse, seemingly oblivious to the heavy raindrops and claps of thunder overhead. Even the massive swirling tornado heading towards her home town, Arcadia Bay, didn't catch her attention. No, her eyes were glued firmly to her childhood best friend, fellow pirate, and who she only recently realized was her first and only crush; Chloe Price. Max was listening to her friend who was in the middle of struggling to give her a speech over the deafening sounds of the Storm. Having only caught half of what she was saying, she finally realized what Chloe was trying to tell her when she pulled the Butterfly photo from her back pocket and offered it to her.

“Max, this is the only way...” She sounded so broken and defeated.

I stared at her in shock, reeling from what she was asking me to do. It took several seconds for my brain to catch up to my mouth. “No Chloe. No. I can't make this choice. Do you have any idea what you're asking me to do here? I saved you, Chloe. If I went back now, not only would I be letting you die, it would be like I'm literally killing you myself. There's no way I'd be able to handle being responsible for the death of my best friend, not after I abandoned you for five years... I probably wouldn't last a week without you.”

Chloe's eye widened and she pulled me into a hug. “Shit, Max, I'm so sorry. But as much as I'd love to run away with you right now, we both know that the destruction this Storm causes will be on us. We won't be able to handle this, either. So... We need a third option.”

I reluctantly pulled myself from her grip so I could get a better look at her. “I suppose I could go back, just to restart the week all over again. Knowing what I know now, we could get ahead of everything and hopefully have the time to figure out a way to stop the Storm.”

Chloe tilted her head in thought for a moment before replying. “Max, could you try taking me back with you? Maybe, I don't know... If it works, I could make the choice never to enter the bathroom? Since I don't have any rewind powers, who knows, maybe fate or whatever the fuck this crap is will think I was never meant to enter the bathroom in the first place so there's no death-reversing anomaly to cause the Storm.”

I raised an eyebrow at her in response. “That's kind of one hell of a leap, you know that, right? But sure, I guess we could try it.”

Taking the photo from Chloe and grabbing her hand, I continued, “How will I know it worked, though?”

Chloe shrugged. “Just haul ass out of the bathroom and wait for me to show up. Either I try to enter the bathroom like an idiot, or I... Well, you'll just have to wait and see.”

Rolling my eyes at the stupid smirk on her face, I then asked, “Okay, so what do I do if it doesn't work? How do I stop you from entering the bathroom? You would probably enter it purely to spite me for abandoning you for five years.” Feeling guilty, I stared down at my feet.

Chloe looked out towards the tornado getting closer and closer to the town, clearly struggling to find a way to convince her old self to listen to me. After a minute of silence, her face lit up in excitement and she turned to me grinning. “Max. We used to be the Pirates of Arcadia Bay when we were younger. Do you remember all those ridiculous rules we came up with? Well, there's one that we swore we would never forget and would always obey if one of us mentioned it, even if we stopped being friends one day. Sort of an emergency get out of jail free card that we never had the chance to use before you moved away. Max, we can finally test how strong our Pirate bond is!”

It took a fair few seconds for me to pick through our childhood memories to find what she was talking about. “Oh crap, I remember it now! It was a code-phrase that 8 year old us came up with so that nobody else would know what we meant, if we ever had to use it in secret. I believe the rule said that we each only got to say it once so I won't risk saying it back to you here just in-case I somehow ruin it, but I remember it perfectly.”

Chloe laughed. “Yeah it was pretty dumb, though it will probably work. It's definitely the last thing I'd expect you to say when you show up for the first time in five years.” She cleared her throat, “Arr! The Bane of Arcadia sets sail once again! Let's kick some booty, First Mate!”

Giggling, I replied, “Aye-aye Captain! The most fearsome Pirates of Arcadia Bay are back in action!”

Then, I turned my attention to the photo in my hands. Taking a deep breath, I began to focus while holding tightly onto Chloe's hand and desperately wishing for her to come along with me. After a few seconds, the picture blurred and my vision went white.


	2. The Silver-Beard Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max gets a surprise.
> 
> Chloe gets a surprise.
> 
> Victoria gets a surprise.
> 
> Surprises all around!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Welcome to chapter two! I was going to split this into two separate chapters but I felt it'd be too short if I did that, so here's one with just under 2k words. I'm kinda writing and thinking this story up as I go, so I hope it doesn't feel too inconsistent. Let me know what you think!
> 
> Enjoy! :)

**Pricefield - Time Warriors**

  


**Chapter 2: The Silver-Beard Surprise**

After what seemed like forever, the whiteness began to fade with a whistling windy sound assaulting my ears as it receded into the background. The next thing I noticed was the buzzing of the overhead lights, the smell of disgusting bathroom soap, the feel of my Polaroid camera and the butterfly photo held in my hands. Realizing the last one, everything snapped into crystal-clear focus.

I hurriedly placed the photo into my bag to keep it safe if we ever needed a third re-do, glanced in one of the mirrors to see if my nose was bleeding – thankfully it wasn't – then practically sprinted out the bathroom door and ran right into Nathan Prescott in the hallway. Shit.

Nathan's eyes went wide in shock and I saw him rush to grab at the back of his waistband - no doubt where he hid his gun - before he saw who I was and slammed his hand into his jacket pocket instead. “Watch where you're fucking going, you twee bitch.”

Trying to keep my own anger in check, I opted for one of my patented Max Caulfield apologies and mumbled a quick “Sorry!” before speed-walking away as inconspicuously as possible. I decided to hop around the corner and pretend to look at the Blackwell trophy cabinet while waiting for Chloe to appear, which would be any minute now.

Right on cue, Chloe stomped her way through the front doors, clearly on a mission. She didn't even look my way as she made her way to the bathroom down the hall. _“Crap, it looks like Chloe didn't come through with me. I guess I gotta stop her... without my rewind this time, just in-case it does cause the storm. This is going to suck but she is so not dying today. Man, I really hope this pirate thing works.”_

Steeling myself for a painful reunion, I boldly stepped in-front of Chloe, stopping her from advancing any further.

“What the hell, get out of the way dude, I'm in the middle of someth-”

I watched as her eyebrows knitted in confusion for a split second, jump to the top of her forehead when she recognized who I was, then finally drop back down in anger.

“No fucking way. You. Of all people I run into today. You must have a lot of nerve to do this now... **FIVE FUCKING YEARS, MAX CAULFIELD!** ”

Those last five words made me simultaneously flinch, drop my head down and shrink into myself, shattering my already broken heart into a thousand pieces all over again. _“I should just let her rant. I deserve this, I deserve all of this.”_ As soon as that thought popped up, I violently shook my head to get rid of it. _“Later. I'm on my own mission, to save your ass again, Chloe.”_ Gathering what little courage I had left, I looked up from the floor and stared her down.

Finally finding my voice, I spoke at barely a whisper. “I know, Chloe. I know I was and am a shitty friend. But I need you to listen to me. I know why you're here today. I know what you're going to do. You can't go into that bathroom, Chloe. It makes no sense but I need you to trust me. Please. Don't go in there.”

If Chloe could frown any harder, she most certainly did. “You come out of nowhere after all this time, to tell me not to do something and expect me to listen to you, never mind trust you or even give a singe fuck about what you're saying? Go back to Seattle where you belong and leave me the fuck alone, you traitor.”

And with that, she stepped around me and marched off towards the bathroom without a second glance backwards.

I just stood there and stared at her back for a solid two seconds before my brain managed to reboot. _“Okay that went about as badly as I expected. Time for plan B.”_

Clearing my throat, I did something I very rarely do in public. I shouted. **“CHLOE. ELIZABETH. PRICE. DON'T YOU DARE WALK AWAY FROM ME!”**

Breathing heavily, I watched as Chloe froze in her tracks, clearly not expecting the level of anger or pain in my voice, much less for me to shout at her. Chloe turned around, very slowly, and cautiously made her way back down the hall towards me. The expression on her face was hard to describe. There was still an angry fire in her eyes but everything else seemed to scream 'Did that really just happen?!'. She wasn't the only one, a lot of other students in the hallway were now giving me confused glances. I ignored them. Only one thing mattered right now. Chloe.

She stepped back into regular conversation range and hissed at me through gritted teeth. “What the hell do you want from me, Max? You have never raised your voice at me like that. Don't think I'll let you start doing it now, not when I should be the one shouting at you.”

I sighed, swallowed the lump in my throat and replied with as much conviction as possible. “Chloe, I know I fucked up. I know you hate me. You have every right to ignore me like I ignored you. But if you still value our childhood memories from before I... abandoned you, what I am about to say should tell you how serious I am being right now.”

I hesitated slightly and Chloe interrupted me with an impatient “Well? Spit it out, Max. I have shit to do.”

Smiling sadly at her, I just decided to go for it and see what happens. “Silver-Beard's treasure has been stolen.”

The myriad of expressions and emotions cycling on Chloe's face upon hearing those words almost made me burst out laughing. Almost. I needed her to take this seriously, so I stood there and watched, waiting patiently. She went from confusion to thoughtful, to realization then shock, to anger then fear, and finally... understanding.

“I, uh... What... Max, really?” Chloe coughed and licked her lips in an attempt to find her voice again, then glanced around and sheepishly spoke the counter-phrase, “Let's hoist the flag and load the cannons. We're going to war.” Then she smirked and added, “Lead the way, Long Max Silver.”

I breathed a sigh of relief and spun around, half dragging Chloe back towards the front doors of Blackwell before Nathan could come rushing out of the bathroom to shoot her anyway, which knowing my luck would probably happen. Throwing open the doors, we stepped outside into the chilly afternoon air.

Only when we reached the fountain did I realize that I was actually still here. There were no photographic boundaries from the moment I stepped out of the bathroom and changed things. I don't even remember doing anything with my powers that would cause it to let me stay. I haven't used them at all, yet. But since it seemed I was in-fact here to stay, I decided to head left towards the Prescott Dormitories (Ugh!) and take Chloe to my dorm room, something I never got to do the first time around. I wondered if she'd approve of it. I also wondered what came next. There was a lot to take care of, and I appeared to be on my own. Again. I shuddered at what that meant.

Thankfully, Chloe chose that moment to interrupt my thoughts. “Max, you should know I'm not actually allowed to be on campus. I kinda got expelled years ago.”

I rose an eyebrow in response. “Normally I hate getting in trouble. But, well, right now I just don't give a shit. I want to show you my room. At-least we can talk in there.”

There was a mischievous smirk on Chloe's face when she replied. “Oooh, is hipster Max turning into a rebel?”

I rolled my eyes at her. “Oh if only you knew, Chloe.”

It was at that moment when we walked around the corner onto the Girls' dormitory quad, I saw none other than Victoria Chase sitting on the steps leading into the dorm, flanked by Taylor and Courtney as usual. _“Ugh, of-course I still have to deal with this crap.”_ I groaned to myself.

Chloe heard me trying to hide the groan under my breath and glanced over at where I was looking. She scoffed. “Victoria's still a massive bitch, I take it?”

The face I made must've confused her since she rose a questioning eyebrow at me. “Oh she definitely is, don't get me wrong. But she acts that way because she's insecure about, well, everything. If she's not in control of it all, she probably thinks her life will fall apart.”

Chloe shrugged. “Eh. That's interesting but doesn't excuse her from being such a cunt.” She glanced to the side for a second before continuing. “You know, she used to treat me like shit when I came here. You should've seen her face the day I got expelled and went out with a bang. I tagged every inch of the bathroom you stopped me from entering and she walked in right as I was doing my 'walk of shame' out of the building. It was hilarious. I never could tell if she looked shocked at what I'd done or was admiring my balls of steel.”

I grinned at her. “That sounds exactly like something you would do, I'm not even surprised. But uh, we kinda need to get past Victoria and her minions to reach my room. I have an idea how and I know you'll love it, but I don't really think she deserves it even if she was a bitch to you.”

Chloe smirked at me. “Don't worry, I'm sure my presence will make her run off with her tail between her legs anyway without either of us having to do anything. But I swear, if she calls me Kari Price one more time I will kill her. Come on.”

With that, she stomped off towards Victoria, making me half-run to keep up with her. Damn Chloe and her long legs.

Once we got near, Victoria looked up from her phone and glared at me. “Why look, if it isn't Max Caulfield, the selfie-ho of Blackwell-” I rolled my eyes at her. Then she noticed Chloe next to me and turned her attention to her instead. “Oh and the resident dropout too. You know you're not supposed to be here, how about I call security and get you kicked off campus? Wouldn't that be fun, Kari Price?”

I blinked and what happened next went so fast I almost missed it. Chloe stepped forward right into Victoria's personal space and straight up punched her in the nose, then shouted. **“BITCHTORIA, FOR THE LAST FUCKING TIME, MY NAME IS CHLOE PRICE!”**

Victoria's nose appeared to be bleeding quite heavily. All three of the Vortex Club bullies were sat there in shock, none of them moved for several very long seconds. Eventually, Victoria sprang up and muttered something about finding security and having Chloe arrested for assault before marching off with Taylor and Courtney in tow.

Chloe was too busy staring at her already-bruising knuckles to notice my own surprise. She seemed to be shocked that she actually hit Victoria. Not that I blame her though. She kinda deserved it, if she's been egging her on for this long, I suppose. But this has probably just ruined any plans I had today.

I glanced down at my right hand - my rewind hand - and decided to get through this one obstacle without Chloe getting all punchy. So much for no rewinding. Even now, I could still feel time flowing through my hand, into my fingertips. Preparing myself for the strain, I mentally tapped into my powers, threw out my hand and pulled.


	3. An Overdue Conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max plans a conversation.
> 
> Chloe forces a conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Here's a longer chapter for you as I couldn't find a good place to stop.
> 
> Enjoy! :)

**Pricefield - Time Warriors**

  
  


**Chapter 3: An Overdue Conversation**

  
  


Everything around me turned into a blur as I forced time to a crawl, then to a hard stop. Taking a deep breath, I pulled once more so that time began to rewind. I watched, fascinated, as the violence of the past couple of minutes reversed right in-front of my eyes. Victoria and her minions sat back down on the stairs. The blood ran back up into her nostrils. Chloe's bruised fist re-connected with her nose and was instantly healed and reversed course as Chloe stepped back into her usual 'don't mess with me' stance, a mere few seconds before Victoria caused her to lash out. Thankfully I couldn't feel my own nosebleed coming on just yet but this would have to do for now. I don't want to push myself too hard on the first rewind in this new timeline. I began to gradually slacken my grip on time until everything froze to a stop. Taking another deep breath, I let go of the rewind completely and waited for my moment.

  
  


Victoria was glaring at me again. “Why look, if it isn't Max Caulfield, the selfie-ho of Blackwell-” then she once again noticed Chloe and was just about to open her mouth to attack her when I decided to strike.

  
  


“Victoria you better shut your mouth right now before I shut it for you.”

  
  


The clack of Victoria's teeth crashing together as she whipped her head back around to look at me in shock was priceless, pun intended.

  
  


Victoria's eyes had narrowed into slits. “Your hipster ass wouldn't dare touch me, don't try to act-”

  
  


I cut her off mid-sentence with my own retort. “Honestly, you're probably right. Victoria, you can insult me all you like, but if you so much as breathe in the direction of my childhood friend here, you WILL regret it. That's assuming she doesn't deck you first. After-all, Chloe here has been known to defend my 'hipster ass' from bullies like you ever since we first met each other. So for once in your life shut up and listen if you don't want this to get violent.”

  
  


Victoria was clearly too busy looking back and forth between me and Chloe to consider formulating a response, so I took a breath and softened my voice. “I'm going to be real with you for a second Victoria, so listen carefully. You are a good photographer. I've always admired your work. Despite all your harsh words and underhanded tactics, I enjoy being your photography rival. I don't hate you, hell I don't even dislike you. I'm sure we'd get along fine, for two photography rivals, that is, if you dropped the constant insults. In-fact, I'll even come by your room tonight at midnight so we can continue this talk in private. See you later, Victoria.”

  
  


And with that done, I nudged my way past, dragging Chloe up the stairs with me, while Victoria and her minions sat there and stared after us with their jaws practically hitting the floor.

  
  


Once we reached the dorm floor, Chloe turned to me and asked, “What the hell was that all about?”

  
  


I simply smirked and replied, “Well Chloe, didn't you say something about me being a rebel? Besides, I told you she wasn't as bad as she acts. If she isn't in control of what's happening, it throws her off balance. As you just saw, she's still probably trying to pick her jaw up off the floor right now.”

  
  


Chloe laughed and shook her head in amusement while we continued walking down the hallway.

  
  


Glancing towards Kate's room, I spotted her room slate and frowned at the same-old graffiti from the last timeline. Stamping down on the rising bubble of anger, I swiftly erased it and decided to make sure people knew it was off-limits. Uncapping the board marker, I wrote _'This slate is under the protection of Max Caulfield. Deface this in any way and you shall pay the Price. You have been warned.'_ then drew an image of my Polaroid camera in the style of a surveillance camera, recapped the marker and continued towards my dorm room where Chloe was already waiting with her arms crossed.

  
  


I pulled the door key out of my pocket when I suddenly realized - Chloe already knew where my room was, even-though I never told her which one was mine. Raising an eyebrow at Chloe, I asked, “So how'd you know which room was mine? Stalker much?”

  
  


Chloe opened her mouth to reply, then promptly shut it again. She looked from my door to my keys and back to me, turned a slight shade of pink then muttered something unintelligible under her breath. I whacked her in the shoulder and told her to speak up.

  
  


“You've been at Blackwell for what, a month now? Yet you never came to see me, not once. I may have gotten a little frustrated and curious, so one day I asked a few people around campus about you and learned which room was yours. That's all. I didn't steal one of step-douche's ladders and peep through your window, I promise.”

  
  


I huffed and rolled by eyes at her, then unlocked my door and shoved her through it before stepping in and quickly closing it behind me.

  
  


Chloe stood in the middle of my room, turning in a circle trying to take everything in. She half-laughed half-groaned before muttering, “I'm so not surprised. It's very hipster. Not my style but I like it. It suits you perfectly.”

  
  


I giggled and dragged her down to sit on the bed with me. We sat there in silence for a good 30 seconds before Chloe turned to me with a serious expression on her face and said, “Why did you show up out of nowhere, for the first time in years, and use our old pirate code to stop me from going into that bathroom? I came, no questions asked. I figure I'm out of immediate danger here so I want to know what the hell is going on. Talk to me, Max.”

  
  


My mind began to race. _“I can't tell her yet. She wouldn't understand or believe me with a power demonstration which would probably scare her off this early on. I'll have to wait until tomorrow, at-least.”_

  
  


Swallowing the lump in my throat, I looked down and mumbled, “I can't, Chloe. Not yet. It's too long to explain and you wouldn't believe me anyway. I'll tell you later, I promise.”

  
  


Chloe frowned and was about to retort when her eyes landed on the photo wall next to us and she leaned closer to inspect it. Her expression was one of sheer admiration and... sadness? Why would she be sad? I followed her line of sight and saw that she was looking at the spot I'd dedicated to our childhood. Oh.

  
  


I slowly placed a hand on her arm before whispering, “I never forgot, Chloe. Never.”

  
  


She whipped her head around so fast I thought she'd snap her neck. Her eyes burned with rage. Again. “Bull-fucking-shit, Max. You abandoned me when I needed you the most!”

  
  


I flinched.

  
  


“You told me you were moving, right before my Dad died, then you stuck around just long enough to attend his funeral and left before it had even finished, for fuck sakes!”

  
  


I screwed my eyes shut tight.

  
  


“You left me a stupid tape-recorded message because you couldn't be bothered to say goodbye properly, and that was it. You were gone. When I needed you the most!”

  
  


The tears began to fall regardless.

  
  


“You weren't there, Max!”

  
  


I clenched my fists so hard that my nails dug into my palm.

  
  


“Some fucking best friend you turned out to be, huh? Remember how you said 'we'll always be Max and Chloe' right before everything turned to shit, then you only replied to a couple of my text messages before giving up and ghosting me completely?”

  
  


My heart felt like it was in my throat.

  
  


“You were perfectly happy to forget that I ever existed and moved on with your fancy new life in the big city of Seattle without me.”

  
  


It was becoming harder to breathe properly.

  
  


“You clearly only came back to this shit town for Blackwell Academy, not me. Not once did you try to contact me or come see me until today, so don't you dare pretend you care about me now.”

  
  


I felt like I was dying. I was clearly in the middle of an anxiety-panic attack. Quite possibly the worst one I've ever had. Chloe was too angry at me to notice and my brain was too busy repeating _“I deserve this!”_ to even attempt to stop her ranting. With no end in sight, I simply curled up into a ball and sobbed while my heart broke and threatened to burst out of my body.

  
  


All of a sudden, Chloe stopped, seemingly mid-sentence. I forced one eye open to take a peek at her, and saw that she was now sitting up straight. As if she was standing at attention, except sitting. Hey jaw was slacked open and her eyes appeared to be glazed over. It was like she'd just been hypnotised. Then, as if some imaginary hypnotist had snapped their fingers, her nose started bleeding. Then she blinked. And blinked again. She rotated her head as her eyes appeared to refocus and as soon as she locked onto me, it was like the spell had been broken completely. She surged forward and threw her hands under my arms, gently pulling me into a sitting position.

  
  


Chloe spoke to me in the softest voice I'd ever heard her use. “It's okay, Max. Just focus on my voice. Listen and breathe. In, and out. That's it. Follow my lead. Good. You're okay. Keep going.”

  
  


We sat there for at-least ten minutes doing nothing but breathing in sync. Once I'd finally calmed down enough, she dragged me into a hug and whispered in my ear, “I'm here, Max. Don't worry, I'll always be here. I'm never leaving you.”

  
  


After another couple of minutes spent rocking back and forth in the hug, I reluctantly let go and shuffled away up the bed to sit against the wall. I took one more deep breath and glanced over at Chloe. That's when I noticed her bloody nose again.

  
  


Clearing my throat, my voice was hoarse from crying but I pushed through it. “Uh, Chloe? Your nose is bleeding.”

  
  


She raised an eyebrow at me, then wiped a hand under her nose, which came away stained in red. Then her other eyebrow rose, and she grinned. “Good. I hope she felt it. Causing you to have an anxiety-panic attack and not recognize the signs herself? What a bitch.” Upon seeing the confusion on my face, she grinned even wider and continued. “It took a while but I made it through, Max. Better late than never, right?”

  
  


I blinked, trying to comprehend the words being spoken to me. It took me a few seconds, but I got there in the end. Then I promptly threw myself back into her arms and sighed in relief. I wasn't alone. All I could say next was, “How?”

  
  


Chloe pulled her head back to look me in the eyes, her face serious again. I flinched, involuntarily, expecting another rant. Chloe noticed and softened her gaze before quickly apologizing and then began to explain what happened.

  
  


“To be honest, I'm still not quite sure myself. Though from what I could piece together, once you initiated the photo jump everything went white. Except, instead of taking me to where I expected – into this body – I got thrown into some creepy-ass nightmare where I had to watch everything that happened in the old timeline, start to finish.”

  
  


I shivered and nodded, “Sounds familiar, I had something like that when I came back from my last trip through time while you were carrying me up to the cliff. It was absolutely horrible.”

  
  


Chloe hummed, then continued. “I'm not sure what yours was like, but I saw everything – scene for scene – as the week went by, even the bits I wasn't actually there for. It was like I was a ghost hovering over your shoulder the whole time. I had to watch myself die in all those dumb ways. The bathroom, shooting myself in the junk-yard, multiple deaths to the train while you kept rewinding, struggling to find a way to save me-”

  
  


She stopped after spotting me wince at the mention of the train and put her hand on my shoulder. “It's okay, Max. I don't blame you in any way. I'm more pissed at myself because you had to witness it over and over again thanks to my own stupidity.”

  
  


She shook her head and kept going. “Anyway, yeah. I saw the train stuff. I saw you save Kate on the roof – I'm so fucking proud of you by the way – and, well, I can recount everything that happened because I saw it all, but since you already lived it I don't think I need to retell it, do I?”

  
  


I huffed and shrugged at her. Then my eyes widened in realization. “Wait, so you saw... everything?” She saw me clench my fist and grabbed it, forcing me to grip her hand instead.

  
  


Chloe took a shaky breath. “Yes, I saw everything. Including the Dark Room.”

  
  


I flinched and tried to block the memories from appearing. It didn't work. I began trying to claw at my wrist with the hand not currently in Chloe's grasp, though it didn't take long until she grabbed that one too.

  
  


“Hey. Max. Focus on my voice again. You're with me, you're safe. I wish I didn't have to bring that up again but you deserve to know – even if it doesn't mean anything to you – while you were unconscious, it was only pictures and posing. I swear to you. Nothing more. I'm still going to rip his fucking balls off and shove them down his throat when I see him, though.”

  
  


I blinked and forced myself to relax, albeit not very much, and nodded at Chloe so that she could let go of my hands. “I... Thanks for that, I think. I'm so sorry you had to watch that.”

  
  


Chloe pulled me in for another hug. “And I'm sorry you had to go through that in the first place, all because of my carelessness. Yet again.”

  
  


I punched her in the arm upon hearing that. “Oh no you don't. I'm the one who puts herself down, not you.” I stuck my tongue out at her. “Besides, even if we suspected a trap, neither of us was expecting it to be from... him.”

  
  


Chloe growled. “Well we're not blind this time. That's for fucking sure.” She cleared her throat. “As I was saying, I saw everything. However, as I watched the week progress, I had this weird feeling that got stronger the more I watched. I didn't know what it was until the end, when I was watching you in the Dark Room. I realized it was a feeling of protectiveness. So strong that it felt like it was linking us – bonding us – together through time and space. I focused on that feeling, then suddenly everything went white again and I opened my eyes to see you hyperventilating. Perfect timing, I guess?”

  
  


I grinned at her. “Yeah. Thanks for that. I had no idea you knew how to deal with anxiety-panic attacks.”

  
  


Chloe flashed me a sad smile. “After you aban- no, sorry - after you were forced to move, it kinda hit me hard. Losing you gave me trust issues and thanks to that, Hella bad anxiety followed. So I've had my fair share of anxiety-panic attacks.”

  
  


Chloe mock-glared at me when I opened my mouth to respond. “Don't even think about saying sorry. It wasn't your fault that your parents screwed us both over at such a shitty time.” She sighed. You've always had bouts of anxiety even when we were younger, but I've never seen you have an attack this bad before, even when I interrogated you the first time around. I know that I've blamed you for moving away, for a long time. I was stuck in that mindset where I only thought about how the move affected me. Not once did I consider that you weren't actually having the time of your life and partying it up in Seattle without me. It's about time I asked for your side of the story, Max.”

  
  


I flinched and ended up squeezing Chloe's hand hard enough to cause her to wince in pain, but she didn't let go.

  
  


Chloe looked at me with concern in her eyes. “Sorry. The last thing I want to do is give you another attack. I have no idea how... bad... it was for you without me. If you're okay to talk about it, I'll just sit here and listen. No judgement. No bullshit. Just Max and Chloe, like when we were kids.”

  
  


I nodded ever so slightly, and took a moment to think about what I've been wanting to say for years. “Chloe, like you said, I've always had anxiety even when I was younger. Think about how shy and awkward I was when we first met. All I wanted to do was run away from you, but you literally wouldn't let me. You've always been the guiding force in our friendship. Most of the things I did, I only did because you were there to give me the courage to do so. Now guess what would happen if you, the only real counter I had to stop me from being my old self, was violently ripped away from me. What did happen.”

  
  


I didn't try to stop the tears from falling this time.

  
  


“Not having you there to balance me out, broke me in more ways than you can imagine. I immediately reverted back to my old self without you around. I was in a completely new house, new city, far bigger than Arcadia Bay, and the only people I knew were my parents who I absolutely resented for splitting us apart – and to be quite honest, I still do – so I had nobody. I was all alone in unknown territory. I never left the house, Chloe. I simply couldn't. The only times I did were when my parents forced me to go to school, of-course. Eventually, somehow, I made a couple of friends there who were willing to keep me company and drag me out of my house, but they were nothing compared to you. Apart from those two, I was seen as the school's awkward loner who everyone else loved to bully, so that didn't help. As time went on, my anxiety got worse, to the point that I stopped texting you completely because I felt so guilty for leaving you and assumed you were only texting me because you felt sorry for me, or something. I don't know. The only thing that kept me going was my love for photography, which even that I only did because it was my last link to my childhood – to you – That passion grew to the point where last year I realized I had a shot at getting into Blackwell, and could finally come back to you. However my anxiety never went away, and I didn't find the courage to pick up the phone and contact you to let you know, because by this point four years had passed, I thought you'd have no doubt moved on from me by now since I'd ghosted you. The same goes for when I actually came back. I couldn't contact you. I couldn't visit you. I just couldn't. I have no excuse except to blame my anxiety, and that just makes me feel like total shit. Everything I did after I moved, I did it solely to get back to you. Even if consciously I was thinking it was pointless and impossible. You mean the world to me, Chloe. You always have. And I will always blame myself for not being strong enough to stay in contact. You needed me and I wasn't there for you. I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry.”

  
  


True to her word, Chloe didn't say anything. She just listened to my rambling. She wiped away my constant stream of tears while ignoring her own. She held me as we both broke down towards the end. She made no effort to put up her punk walls of steel. Sometimes, Chloe Price cares and she just can't hide it.


	4. Life Is Boring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max and Chloe must act like everything is fine, no matter how boring it is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Another longer chapter for you. I would've split it up but I just wanted to get the same-old dorm stuff over and done with. I'd rather not drag out the parts that we already know by heart unless there's something different added to it. Hope that's okay.
> 
> Enjoy! :)

**Pricefield - Time Warriors**

  


**Chapter 4: Life Is Boring**

  


Some minutes later, the tears finally stopped and so I reluctantly extricated myself from the tangle of limbs and messy hair that we'd become during the shared breakdown. Glancing over at my phone, I watched as it started blowing up with texts from Warren. I groaned and resisted the urge to fling it across the room, instead opting to make myself as presentable as possible.

  


After-all, there was still a lot to take care of. Annoyingly, one of those things was Warren's flash drive, which meant dealing with Dana and Juliet's drama, which also meant sneaking into Victoria's room once more. It's strange how once you are confronted by the reality of murders and psychopaths, the simple everyday things seem so boring and pointless in comparison. Sadly, we have to at-least maintain a sense of normality for today otherwise we risk tipping our hand far too early.

  


I stood up and stretched, then walked over to my desk and pulled out a sneakily hidden box of tissues that I kept on-hand for the many times I'd cried over my inability to visit Chloe over the past month. Picking out a few, I looked over at Chloe who was sat on the edge of the bed attempting to wipe her face with her tank top. Rolling my eyes, I grabbed the box and chucked it into her lap before sitting back down.

  


I cleared my throat a few times, then spoke. “So, now that we're done being mushy, I suppose you'd like to know what you missed while we finish cleaning ourselves up?”

  


Chloe looked up and nodded at me, so I continued. “Well, when I first arrived I almost got myself shot running head-first into Nathan outside the bathroom.” I put my hands up to placate Chloe's shocked expression. “Yeah, that was certainly awkward. Though when the other-you finally showed up, you'll be glad to know that our pirate code-phrase thing worked perfectly. She actually remembered the counter-phrase too and followed no questions asked, which I wasn't really expecting. However, on our way to my dorm, we ran into Victoria exactly like it happened to me last time, remember? Except you were with me, and... well, you may have broke her nose after she called your Kari Price one too many times. I had to rewind just to keep you from getting your ass arrested.” The smirk that was forming on Chloe's face got wiped away in an instant. “So instead, I took control and might've caused Victoria's brain to explode by being nice to her. Speaking of which, I'll be paying her a visit at midnight to have a proper chat with her.”

  


Chloe rose an eyebrow. “Planning on taming the Queen Bitch are you? She'd probably kick you out before you even manage to say two words, so good luck with that.”

  


I sighed. “Chloe, she's going to be one of his targets. We know this now. So I have to do something. I don't know what I'll say but I have to try.”

  


Chloe's expression softened. “I know, Max. Stupid question considering my history with her, but do you want me to come with you? You know, for moral support or whatever.”

  


I shrugged. “Maybe. We'll cross that bridge when it gets closer to midnight. For now though, we have other things to deal with. You ready to go?”

  


Chloe put down her tissue and glanced into my mirror. “As ready as I'll ever be, I guess. Why, what for?”

  


I faked a yawn. “Well, we need to act like everything is fine. Maintain appearances, that sort of thing. Which means I need your help conquering the boring everyday life here at Blackwell.” I beckoned Chloe to follow me as I peeked my head into the hallway.

  


Juliet was sat outside Dana's room with her back against the door. _“Huh. That didn't happen last time.”_ I thought.

  


Then, suddenly the door leading to the entrance stairwell was flung open. Through it came one very upset-looking Kate Marsh, who stormed off to her room. Frowning, I pulled my phone out and checked the time, then cursed when I realized we'd spent way too long in my room crying our eyes out. In-fact, I'd completely forgotten about Kate and David's confrontation until now, and there is no way I'm going to let Kate cry because of David.

  


Chloe tugged on my arm to get my attention. “What's wrong, Max?”

  


I closed the door and turned around to face Chloe. “We're behind schedule thanks to that crying session we had. I think I'll need to rewind but I'm not sure how long. I'm sorry.”

  


Chloe frowned slightly before grabbing hold of my hand. “Then let's see if you can take me with you. I already came through a photo jump so surely a rewind would be easy in comparison. Right?”

  


I rolled my eyes at her. Yeah sure, you're the science nerd, not me.”

  


Chloe snorted. “Shut up, hipster.”

  


I bumped shoulders with her, then tightened my grip on her hand. “Okay, Chloe. Lets' give it a shot. I don't know what's going to happen or what it'll feel like for you, so brace yourself, alright?”

  


Chloe nodded. “Ready. Hit it, Super-Max.”

  


Taking a deep breath, I threw out my hand and pulled.

  


The instant I did so, there was a searing pain in my head that caused my knees to buckle. If not for the death-grip on Chloe's hand, I would've collapsed. I'd never experienced something as painful as this, not even when my powers failed trying to reach Kate on the roof. I imagine that one was due to overuse, whereas this felt more like a brick wall stopping me from rewinding through it.

  


Blinking through the pain, I glanced over at Chloe and saw she was probably in just as much pain as me. Time appeared to have stopped when I hit this invisible barrier, but at-least Chloe was still moving, so technically it worked.

  


Chloe looked up at me and spoke through gritted teeth. “This is so weird. And painful. Fuck it hurts. I don't know what this thing feels like to you, but for me it's more like a muscle, for lack of a better word. Soft and squishy. if you rewind hard enough I can push through. No idea how I know that, I just do.”

  


Nodding slightly, I obeyed. Tightening my hold on time, I pulled as hard as I could. Time seemed to stutter as I felt us repeatedly ramming into this brick wall, or muscle, or whatever it was. After a few seconds of this, suddenly there was a sound resembling a loud pop and the pain vanished. Time started to rewind like normal. Actually, better than normal. This felt smoother, more precise, like I had more control over my power now that we'd broken through that thing. Glancing at Chloe, she was watching in awe as the ghost of our past selves moved in reverse and collapsed back into a crying heap on my bed. I watched the time on my phone as it sped backwards. We only needed something like ten extra minutes, but it felt like I could rewind for ages with Chloe at my side. Still no pain, no nosebleeds or headaches, nothing. Once we'd gone back far enough, I relinquished my hold on time and let it continue forward, dropping my hand.

  


I grabbed Chloe by the shoulders and spun her around to inspect her face. She also appeared to be fine. Well, unless you count the fact that she was speechless for once as a bad thing. Smirking, I playfully flicked her nose and laughed as she yelped in response.

  


“You okay there, Chloe? I didn't turn your brain to mush or anything?”

  


Chloe blinked and licked her lips a couple of times. “Yeah... I'm okay, Max. Can I just say though, that was fucking amaze-balls! Is it always like that?”

  


I grinned at her. “If you ignore the random spots of pain, yes. You saw exactly what I see. It takes a while to wrap your head around it, but you get used to it.”

  


Chloe nodded. “Well, I'm just glad you didn't have to rewind away our big conversation. Or rather, at-least we both remember it happening.”

  


I put a hand on her shoulder and smiled. “Yeah, me too. Now let's go Chloe, we're on the clock here.”

  


I pulled open the door and stepped out into the hallway, waited for Chloe to shuffle her way through, then locked it behind us and put the key back in my pocket. Looking down the hall, I saw Juliet banging on Dana's door and arguing with her just like before. Right on time. Deciding to speed this up a little, I crossed over to Victoria's room, dragged Chloe inside as inconspicuously as possible and closed the door behind us.

  


Chloe took one look around the room before pretending to vomit in disgust. I whacked her in the arm to make her stop. She rose an eyebrow at me and asked, “So why are we standing in Victoria's room? Can I trash it? Please let me trash it.”

  


Rolling my eyes, I shook my head at her. "Behave Chloe. You saw Juliet down the hall, right? Well, she's locked Dana in her room because she thinks she was sexting her boyfriend. She wasn't. Victoria was. We're here for proof so that I can get Warren's flash drive back from Dana without having to break down her door.”

  


Chloe groaned at the mention of Warren.

  


I giggled at her. “Easy there Chloe. No need to be jealous. Yes, he has a hardcore crush on me. Now that I know that, it's just made my interactions with him so much more awkward because-” I stepped into Chloe's personal space and stared her down. “He is only a friend. I just have no idea how to let him down gently without hurting him since he's not my type. Understand?”

  


She nodded slightly before looking away in embarrassment. I smirked inwardly and took a lot of satisfaction from the blush forming on her face.

  


Stepping away, I turned around and went straight for Victoria's laptop. Navigating to the incriminating evidence, I hurriedly printed it off and grabbed the sheet of paper.

  


Chloe was chuckling at something behind me. Looking around, I saw her standing at one of the shelves and staring at Victoria's glow in the dark doll.

  


“What's so funny, Chloe?”

  


Chloe pointed at the doll. “Victoria acts all high-and-mighty but she's a closet anime nerd. Holy shit.”

  


I sighed. “Yes Chloe, you're finally realizing that she's not actually the evil person she pretends to be. Now come on, lets go before we get caught red-handed laughing at Victoria's nerd status."

  


I cracked open the door to check if the coast was clear – it was – then we casually walked out, shut the door behind us once more and headed down the hall towards Juliet who was still shouting at Dana on the other side of the door.

  


“Juliet Watson, you be nice! Read this and open the door.”

  


Juliet frowned at me before taking the paper. One quick glance later, and realization dawned on her face. She opened Dana's door mumbling several apologies and agreeing to do her laundry before walking away.

  


Dana invited me in to get the flash drive while Chloe opted to wait in the hall. I walked over to her desk and picked it up, inserting it into her laptop to check everything was still there like before, then pulled it out and put it in my pocket. Saying a quick goodbye to Dana (Sorry Dana, no time to chat!), I headed back into the hall and motioned for Chloe to follow me outside.

  


Once we stepped out through the entrance door, Chloe grabbed my arm. “Dude, what's the rush?”

  


I huffed in response. “Sorry. Uh, David's probably harassing Kate right about now. Gotta go rescue her from him."

  


Chloe growled angrily. “Oh hell no. She's going through enough as it is. It's time we put step-dick in his place once and for all.”

  


With that said, we rushed off towards the passageway leading from the dorms to the main quad. As expected, David was in the middle of laying into Kate when I walked up to them.

  


Glaring at David, I told him, “Leave Kate alone, she's done absolutely nothing wrong. If you got over your paranoia for a second you'd see that she's innocent in your delusions. Stop bullying her and start doing your job properly."

  


Kate stepped back towards me with relief and gratitude etched into her smile.

  


David frowned at me and opened his mouth to speak when Chloe marched up and cut him off. “Isn't trying to order me around enough of a power trip for you, dude? Now you're harassing my friend and her friend? You just don't know when to stop, do you?”

  


David turned to face Chloe and sighed in frustration. “Damn it Chloe, you're not allowed on campus. How I go about doing my job has nothing to do with you, now get out of here-” He turned his attention to me before continuing. “You too Max. This isn't over.”

  


Chloe was so pissed, I could practically see the steam coming out of her ears. “Screw you, David. I'm making it my business. You're such a paranoid creep. Constantly spying on everyone, thinking they're doing something illegal.” She narrowed her eyes into slits and prodded a finger into his chest. “I know about your cameras, David. So I'm giving you two options right now. Option one: You stop being such an upright jerk, be nice to me and my friends, actually make an effort to learn how to handle a step-daughter like me instead of treating me like a military recruit... And I'll let you take the cameras down without a fuss, so long as you tell Mom about them yourself. Option two: I go straight to Mom and tell her about the cameras myself, and for once I will make damn sure you get kicked out of our lives for good. I can't believe you violated her privacy like that, never-mind my own. You are absolutely disgusting. Now what's it going to be, David?”

  


David simply stood there with a stunned expression. Eventually, he blinked and slumped his shoulders in defeat. “I'll go talk to Joyce. For what it's worth, I'm sorry, Chloe. I promise I'll do better.” Then he turned around and wandered off, muttering to himself.

  


As soon as he was gone, I was blind-sided by blonde hair. Kate was hugging me. “Thank you, Max-” Then she turned to Chloe and gave her a hug. “And thank you, uh... Chloe? What you both just did for me means more than you could ever know. I have to go now, but again, thank you.”

  


I put a hand on Kate's arm to get her attention and gave her a smile. “I, no we, are both here for you. Always. I suggest you take a look at your room slate, I left you a little something. We'll come see you later too, okay? We're well overdue a tea-date anyway.”

  


Kate brightened considerable at that. “I'd like that, Max. Thanks. I'll see you both later.” Then she turned around, waving at us as she walked off.

  


I turned my gaze towards Chloe, who was still smiling at Kate's retreating form. “You okay there Chloe? I didn't expect you to go off on David like that, not so soon anyway.”

  


Chloe glanced at me. “Kate's smile really is infectious, isn't it? But, uh... Yes, I'm fine Max. Besides, I think that was a long time coming. The only reason I gave him a chance to redeem himself is because he saved your life when I couldn't.”

  


I put a hand on her back and nodded. “Yeah. Now, our next stop is... Warren. Yay.”

  


Chloe snorted. “Okay I guess we should just get this over and done with then.”

  


I sighed and started heading over to the parking lot with Chloe pretending to lag behind and stall for time.

  


After being forced to drag Chloe halfway across campus, we finally made it to the parking lot where Warren was waiting.

  


Chloe made a big show of throwing her arm around me and giggled when Warren's brows furrowed upon seeing it. Upon reaching him, I flashed him a half-smile. “Here's your flash drive, Warren.”

  


Warren nodded and pocketed his flash drive. “Hey Max. So uh, there's a drive-in with a planet of the apes marathon and I was wondering-”

  


Chloe cut him off. “Sorry dude, we have too much shit to do. She doesn't have the _time_ to go to a drive-in.”

  


Warren rose an eyebrow at her and turned back to me. “Uh... Max, are you sure? I'd really like it if you came.”

  


Chloe growled under her breath. “Look man, you're not her type, okay?”

  


Warren's brow furrowed again in confusion. “I'm not sure I understand.”

  


Chloe sighed and muttered just loud enough for me to hear, “Fucking hell he's just as dense as you are, Max.”

  


I rolled my eyes at her.

  


Warren turned to me again. “Max, who even is this girl, I haven't seen her around before.”

  


I cleared my throat. Oh. Well, this is Chloe, she's my-”

  


Chloe interrupted me by kissing my cheek and finishing my sentence for me. “Girlfriend. I'm her girlfriend. Is that clear enough for you? You're not her type, man. Just be her friend, okay?”

  


I could feel my cheeks instantly warming up, my whole face must've turned red. Warren's brows reached the top of his head upon seeing my face and his shoulders slumped. “Ah. I see. Well, alright then. Sorry to bother you, I guess I'll just go now. See you, uh... later, Max.” Then he walked away in a daze.

  


My brain was too busy overloading at the fact Chloe had just kissed me, rather than asking me to kiss her as a dare, to even say anything to Warren. I could see Chloe smirking at me in my peripheral vision. She leaned in and whispered in my ear “Sorry, Max. That was just the easiest way to get rid of him. Come on, let's get you back to your dorm before you have a heart attack or something. Then we can go see Kate later, okay?”

  


The only response I could give was blinking, so Chloe just grabbed hold of my hand and began tugging me back towards my room.


	5. A Hipster, Punk, Angel And Queen Walk Into A Bar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max wins a game of chess.
> 
> A tea-date finally happens.
> 
> An unexpected visitor turns up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry this one took longer than expected to get out. I wanted this chapter to have a mix of everything and it was hard to make it look perfect so I hope it turned out okay, let me know what you think!
> 
> Enjoy! :)

**Pricefield - Time Warriors**

**Chapter 5: A Hipster, Punk, Angel And Queen Walk Into A Bar**

Once Chloe had managed to drag me back to my dorm, I had finally managed to recover enough of my senses to feel able to talk again. So when Chloe flopped down onto my couch and put her feet up, I decided to get some payback. Turning to face her, I crossed my arms. Chloe noticed and raised an eyebrow before asking, “What?”

As nonchalantly as possible I replied, “So... I'm your girlfriend, huh?”

Chloe just laid there on my couch and stared at me with her mouth opening and closing like a fish, while her ears burned red.

I took a step forward, smirking slightly. “You only got one kiss back in the old timeline, and from a dare might I add, yet I'm suddenly yours? I didn't think you were so easy, Chloe.”

She sputtered a few incomprehensible words at that, still unable to form a proper sentence.

Grinning at the sight of her face gradually turning pink, I perched myself on the arm of the couch where her head was and leaned over until she was looking at me from upside down.

A part of my brain was screaming at me to stop. The very same part that kept me from contacting Chloe for five years. Frowning on the inside, careful not to let Chloe see the turmoil within, I mentally banished my anxiety with such force that I could've sworn I heard a door slam shut in my head. After everything that I've been through – we've been through – there is no way I'm letting my anxiety convince me to back down. Not this time. Chloe made the first move. The first several moves actually, if you count the kiss dare. The thing with Warren was most likely just her jealousy flaring up but either way, now it's my move. Do or die, Max.

“Since you seem incapable of speaking, Chloe, I'll let you off the hook. On one condition.”

Chloe licked her lips in an effort to reply. All she could manage was to push out a very quiet “Okay?”

I smiled mischievously and had to hold back a giggle when I heard her audibly swallow. Lowering my voice to a whisper, I went for it before anything else could try to stop me. “If you want me so badly then kiss me for real.”

I watched as Chloe's eyes went so wide that I thought they'd literally fall out of her head while her face somehow managed to turn an even darker shade of pink. She just needed one more push.

“Don't make me triple dog dare you, Chloe Elizabeth Price.”

That certainly put a stop to whatever weak protest she was about to make. Her brows furrowed slightly and she started flicking her gaze back and forth between my eyes and mouth. She shifted a little on the couch to get a better position before ever so slowly starting to lean in.

The instant our lips brushed together, all her hesitation vanished, along with any lingering traces of my anxiety. She clearly wanted this just as much as me. Not bothering to hide how eager I was any-more, I practically melted into her face. _“Checkmate.” was t_ he last thought I had before my brain exploded in ecstasy.

Sadly, our sudden flare of passion was cut short right as it began to heat up due to the fact that we'd forgotten how precarious our position was. One movement too far and my leg accidentally slipped off the arm of the couch, causing us both to fall onto the floor with a combined “Oof.” before awkwardly rolling off each other and giggling.

When the laughing fit had stopped, we simply laid there in silence for a few minutes, reflecting on what had just happened. Chloe had a really goofy smile plastered on her face. I imagined I did, too.

Eventually, I shifted onto my side to face Chloe and asked the one question I couldn't get out of my head. “What are we now?”

Chloe glanced at me and shrugged. “Relax, Max. We can worry about all the complicated shit some other time. All you need to know for now is that I won't let whatever this is ruin our friendship. We are always going to be best friends and pirates first, mushy crap second. Is that okay with you?”

I thought it over for a few seconds before agreeing. “I suppose so, yeah. Does this mean you'll leave Warren alone now?

Chloe smirked. “Sure. So long as I get to kiss you like we just did every time he walks into the same room.”

I tried to casually roll my eyes at her but no doubt the blush on my face gave me away so instead I opted for saying, “That's probably not a good idea, I think he would spontaneously combust if you actually did that.”

Chloe laughed and I heard her mutter under her breath, “That sounds like a good thing to me.”

I rolled over so I could get close enough to swat her on the arm. “Man, you are relentless. Bad Chloe. I'd rather you didn't want my friends to explode, since I only have a very limited number of them. Three, to be precise. You, Warren and Kate.”

Chloe's expression softened considerably. “Fuck, sorry Max. I'm only messing around-” She rubbed the back of her neck before continuing, “He's not really that bad, I just get a little overprotective and... well, jealous. Obviously.”

I smirked. “Well you are my Captain, and bodyguard, after-all. It's part of your job description, even if it gets annoying sometimes.” I stuck my tongue out at her.

Chloe exaggeratedly rolled her eyes. “Yeah well... Anyway, speaking of Kate, do you think it's time for your fancy little tea-date?”

I stood up and stretched, then checked the time on my phone. It was almost 6pm. I nodded and Chloe stood too. “I guess so. We've been in here for little longer than I expected but I'm sure Kate won't mind.” I narrowed my eyes at her and continued, “No funny business, Chloe. I mean it.”

Chloe mock-gasped. “With sweet Kate? I wouldn't dream of it! You on the other hand...” Then she put her hands out to defend herself, expecting another jab on the arm.

Instead I just sighed and rolled my eyes. “You have no idea how much I'd love to-” I felt another blush creeping up my neck from the unexpected admission and cleared my throat before continuing. “But we have enough to deal with right now, without you outing me to the rest of Blackwell. I'm not ready to run through the rumour mill just yet, this place is brutal.”

Chloe stepped forward and threw an arm over my shoulder. “Oh I know just how insane BlackHell can be. I wouldn't do that to you until you're okay with it, I promise.”

I smirked at her. “Well in that case, we better get going. Some Chamomile tea would probably help stop you from bouncing off the walls so much. Yes, it really is that obvious.”

Chloe groaned and pulled her beanie down in an attempt to hide her blush.

Once Chloe had forced herself to relax enough to be seen in public, we headed across the hall and knocked on Kate's door. Quickly glancing at her room slate, I grinned as I noticed she'd added something to my previous artwork. There was now angel wings attached to my Polaroid-Security-Camera, for lack of a better name, which was also pointing towards the new addition of a rabbit, hopping around in the bottom corner.

After a few seconds, Kate opened the door and greeted us both with her signature smile that could light up any room in an instant. However, her smile didn't quite reach her eyes, which isn't really a surprise, knowing what I know now. “Hi Max. Hi Chloe. Come in! The water's already boiling so it won't take too long.”

We ducked inside and closed the door. Looking around, I saw that she had at-least cleaned up the room a little compared to the last time I saw it, though the mirror was still covered up and the window blinds were shut tight. I decided to take a seat on the couch while Chloe sat on the floor at my feet.

Kate turned to us and asked, “So, what would you like?”

Glancing down at Chloe, I giggled slightly. “Well, Chloe here isn't very proficient when it comes to this sort of thing, so I think we'll both go for some Chamomile tea.”

Kate nodded and opened a cabinet. “Good idea. I think I'll take some of that too, actually.” Then went back to preparing the tea.

A minute later, all three of us were clutching and sipping steaming mugs of tea. “So Kate, how's Alice doing today?”

Kate raised an eyebrow. “She's good, why do you ask?”

I smirked. “Oh, well Lisa misses her friend, that's all.”

Chloe spoke up. “I feel like I'm missing something here. Who's Alice? Or Lisa?”

Kate spotted the smirk on my face and grinned herself before turning to Chloe. “Well, Alice is my pet rabbit, and Lisa is-”

Chloe interrupted her with a high-pitched squeal unbecoming of someone with her punk status. “You have a rabbit? Max why didn't you tell me she had a rabbit? Dude! Please, please, please, please can I pet her?”

Kate glanced at me again and we both simultaneously burst out laughing.

Once she'd calmed down slightly, Kate got up to let Alice out of her cage while I was struggling to stop myself from giggling at the expression on Chloe's face. Which only got worse when Kate plopped Alice into Chloe's lap.

Eventually my giggles came to a stop. Chloe was still completely focused on petting Alice, so when Kate went to grab a few tissues, I leaned down and whispered, “Since you're enjoying yourself so much, you can pet me if you want.”

Chloe almost jumped out of her skin at the sound of my voice right next to her ear. Then she blushed heavily once her brain registered what I'd said. She mock-glared at me and muttered under her breath, “I thought you said no funny business.”

I snorted. “Sorry, I couldn't help myself. You looked so happy and content. I don't think your punk image will survive this one, you big pile of mush.”

Chloe glared at me but didn't try to protest it, to my surprise. I may have found an actual weakness.

Kate returned and handed me a tissue, which I used to wipe away a couple of stray tears. “Now where was I, before I got so rudely interrupted? Oh right, Lisa. That's the name of Max's plant.”

Chloe groaned. “I should've seen that one coming. Of-course it is. You never could resist giving a name to every plant in my house when we were younger.”

Rolling my eyes at her, I turned to Kate. “That's enough about Alice and Lisa. So... How are you doing, Kate?”

Kate silently stared down into her tea, nursing it for a while. I could feel the tension in the room rise. Finally, she whispered so quietly I almost missed it. “Not good.”

Trading looks with Chloe, I pressed on. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Kate quickly glanced over at Chloe before turning back to me. “I'm not sure, Max.”

Realizing she was being reluctant because of Chloe's presence, I decided to reassure her. “Chloe isn't so scary when you get used to her, as you saw with her reaction to Alice. She's actually a surprisingly good listener when it comes to serious things. We had our own difficult conversation earlier so believe me, I know.”

Chloe smiled at her. “We're here for you and we ain't going anywhere. Whatever you say stays in this room.”

Kate looked between us, then nodded. “I... Thank you guys, it means so much that you are willing to listen to my problems-” Her eyes started watering as she tried to push forward. “I just... don't know how to talk about this. I... Oh darn it-” Tears began to fall down her cheeks.

Scooting forward, I put a hand on her knee. “Shh, just let it out, Kate. Don't hold them back, we can keep going when you're ready.”

Upon hearing that, Kate practically broke down sobbing right there on the floor. Instead of letting her curl up into a ball, I reacted on instinct and pulled her into a hug so that she could cry on my shoulder. Chloe shifted forward so that she could rub a hand on her back. Neither of us spoke while Kate's sobbing got progressively louder and messier. Even with all the crying she's no doubt been doing recently – if the already existing pile of tissues in her trash were anything to go by – she's probably been trying to hide it until now. The dorm walls are terribly thin, too, so there's no way I wouldn't have heard her crying like this. I'm pretty sure the entire dorm can hear her now, but screw them. Kate needs this.

We simply sat there while Kate's golden heart relentlessly streamed from her eyes, occasionally muttering comforting words to her.

After several minutes of non-stop sobbing, there was a quiet, almost reluctant, knock on Kate's door. The sound of Victoria's voice followed, causing all three of us to immediately freeze up.

“Max, Kar-” She coughed slightly to cover up her misstep. “Chloe, I know you're both in there with her. Open the door already.”

The expression on Chloe's face was furious, to say the least. In-fact it was so far above that, there were no words to describe it. I motioned for Kate to stay where she was, then I grabbed Chloe's hand and pulled her over to the door, cautiously opening it. The sight before me caused me to reflexively freeze time, which made Chloe gasp in surprise.

“Crap, sorry Chloe, didn't have time to warn you.”

Chloe took a breath, then once she'd recovered from the weirdness of seeing everything frozen, she saw what had caused me to stop time.

The expression on Victoria's face was a mixed bag on full display. She appeared hesitant, worried but ultimately conflicted.

I took a step out out into the hall, past Victoria, careful to keep a tight hold on Chloe's hand. Looking left and right, I saw a few heads peeking around doors, with Taylor and Courtney standing guard at each end. Presumably keeping everyone else away while Victoria knocked on Kate's door.

Chloe cleared her throat to get my attention. “So uh, how the fuck are we getting out of this one, Max?”

I hummed in thought. After a moment, I replied, “Maybe this is a good thing. I mean, look at Victoria. Have you ever seen her look so... I dunno, human?”

Chloe snorted. “Not really, no. But I don't see how this is a good thing. She has some serious balls to come here now knowing full well she's one cause of Kate's pain.”

I nodded. “That's the point, Chloe. For probably the first time in her life, she's feeling worried over something she's caused. I think I must've had more of an effect than I expected, when I was nice to her earlier.”

Chloe sighed. “Okay, let's say that's true. How do we handle this?”

I turned to face her properly, then shrugged. “You do realize that before Kate broke down crying, she was most likely about to tell us all about the video Victoria took of her at the party. Which, I assume, would lead into her telling us about what she thinks happened to her afterwards-” I fixed her with a pointed look. “Where she ended up. Him-” I forced down the shiver that was creeping up my spine then continued. “As awkward as this will be, I figure we can kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. I want to tell Kate what really happened to her, she deserves to know. If Victoria decided to come here herself, then perhaps the whole truth will make her understand that her actions have consequences. Plus it saves me having to do this twice, visiting her at midnight.”

Chloe blinked, absorbing everything I just said. Then she slowly nodded. “If that's how you want to play it, sure. But if Victoria steps one pretty little fingernail out of line, I will do more than break her nose this time. Got it?”

I smirked. “Fine by me, Chloe. Now let's go back to where we were standing before. I don't want to scare the shit out of Victoria by teleporting in her face, as hilarious as that'd be.”

Once we were back in the right places, I let go of the freeze.

Chloe immediately crossed her arms and glared at Victoria. “Man, you must have some ridiculous lady-balls to come here right now.”

Instead of frowning like one would expect, Victoria's shoulders slumped in defeat and she muttered, “I know.”

Chloe arched an eyebrow at that. “Do you have a death wish or something?”

Victoria gulped and looked at her feet. “It certainly feels like it. Now can I come in or not?”

Deciding Chloe's had enough fun torturing her, I grabbed hold of Victoria's arm and carefully dragged her inside, then shut the door behind her. Chloe moved to lean against the door, effectively blocking Victoria from escaping, while I deliberately placed myself in-front of Kate to protect her.

Victoria took one step into the room before spotting Kate curled up on the floor, still crying. Her eyes went wide and she opened her mouth to say something but Kate hiccuped a few times before looking up from the floor, right into Victoria's eyes. Whatever she was about to say died in her throat and she froze up, like a deer caught in headlights.

What Kate said next was like a slap in Victoria's face. “Have you come to make fun of the fake religious girl who goes around kissing people at parties? Do you want to take another video of me now, while I cry my eyes out? Maybe show everyone that I'm not even the happy girl they all think I am? Is that what you want?”

Victoria's jaw dropped to the floor. Chloe glared at Victoria so harshly I expected her hair to burst into flames. While I, knowing the truth, clenched my fists in anger and disgust.

Eventually, Victoria managed to push out a meek, “No, Kate.”

I glared at her. “Then sit down and shut up. Don't say a word, Victoria.” I grinned on the inside when she practically collapsed to the floor on command in the most un-Victoria-like way imaginable.

Turning back to Kate, I crouched down in-front of her and whispered, “I know she has no right to be here, and I'm not even sure why she is here to be honest. However, if what you just said to her is anything like what you was going to tell us before, then don't stop now. Victoria being forced to listen and see exactly what she's caused should be a fitting punishment, don't you think? So pretend she isn't here and tell us everything, okay?”

Kate blinked a few times, then reluctantly nodded. “Okay. Yes. Uh, here goes-” I sat down cross-legged in-front of her and held her hand for support. “Well, last week I finally wanted to try out one of the Vortex Club parties. I'd never been to one before and with how... eh, sheltered, my life was before coming here, I decided it was time to see what everyone else got up to. It wasn't too bad at first. It took me a while to get used to it but eventually I had a little fun dancing to the music even if it wasn't my type-” She turned her head to fix Victoria with a stern stare. “After that, I thought I'd try some red wine on offer, courtesy of the Vortex Club. I only had a couple of sips before figuring out that I didn't like it. I mean, I drink wine at church, but this stuff was way more alcoholic than I am used to, so I switched back to drinking water instead. A little while later and I, um... Started feeling sick and dizzy. Everything is kind of a blur beyond that. Just little bits and pieces-” At this point both Chloe and Victoria had wandered over to sit with us. “I don't remember kissing anyone, but if that video is real then I must have. What I do remember though, was Nathan talking to me. He said I didn't look well and that he'd take me to the hospital. The next thing I remember is being in the back of a car, I assume Nathan's, before blacking out and waking back up in this... really bright room. I thought it was a hospital at first, though I couldn't really see since everything was so white. Someone was talking to me in a soft voice, again I thought it was a doctor, until I felt a sharp sting in my neck and... and... That's it. I woke up outside my room the next morning with no idea how I got there, or what even happened to me.”

I was only vaguely aware that Kate had finished speaking, and that Victoria was sitting in silence with tears running down her face. I thought I could hold it together but as soon as Kate mentioned feeling a sting in her neck, my own memories came flooding back for the second time today. I felt Chloe grab my hands and squeeze. I struggled to tune out everything else and tried to focus solely on her. Slowly, very slowly, it was working. As the seconds went by, I could feel myself trickling back into the present. Back to Chloe.

Finally, I blinked back to the here-and-now. That's when my brain fully registered the fact that, not only was Chloe death-gripping my hands, Kate had a hand on my knee and even Victoria had a hand hovering near my back. The latter two staring at me with worry and confusion. I groaned, and mumbled out a “Fuck.” before my brain could catch up with my mouth. Kate winced slightly.

I was about to apologize when she covered a hand over my mouth and giggled. “I don't know what just happened but I think I'll let that one slide. It's okay, Max.”

Victoria still hadn't said a word, though neither had she moved her hand away from my back. I glanced at Chloe and saw her nod questioningly towards my rewind hand, as if to say, “We can go back, if you want?”

I shook my head at her. “It doesn't matter, Chloe. There's no point trying to hide this now.”

Chloe frowned slightly. “Are you sure, Max? You don't have to do this if you're not ready.”

I sighed. “You know I do.”

That shut her up.

Annoyingly, Victoria chose this moment to finally speak. “Do what, Max? What the he-” She swiftly corrected herself. “Heck is going on?”

I traded another meaningful glance with Chloe before taking a deep breath and turning back to look at Kate. “I know what happened to you at the party. You were drugged, Kate.”

I saw her eyes go wide and heard Victoria gasp, so I turned to her next. “And you, Victoria, thought it was a funny idea to take a video of Kate while she kissed a bunch of people, which is something we both know she'd never do and you seriously didn't think anything was wrong? Shame on you.”

Victoria looked like she'd just been sucker-punched in the gut. She probably actually would've been if Chloe wasn't still clinging to my arm.

Refocusing my attention on Kate, she whispered, “How do you know that, Max?”

I smiled sadly at her. “That, my dear Kate, is a very long, very crazy and very complicated story. Let's just say, it's the same way I know that you were probably planning to do a certain something tomorrow, correct?”

Kate flinched and turned white in an instant. Staring at me with wide eyes, it took her a few seconds to get her voice to work. “How did you... No, that's not possible... Nobody was supposed to know I was going to-” She trailed off and audibly gulped as her eyes started frantically darting around the room, looking for a way out. _“Shit, you fucking dumb-ass, that was way too blunt. Sorry Kate.”_ I mentally berated myself.

I was just about to try calming Kate down when Victoria, of all people, sprang into action without even realizing what we were talking about. I watched as she pushed aside her own self-loathing and hesitation, took a firm hold on Kate's hands and attempted to get her to take deep breaths with her. Victoria's technique was quite similar to how Chloe was with me, just a little more refined. Eventually, Kate calmed down enough for Victoria to stop and realize exactly what she'd done. I simply smiled at her as she glanced awkwardly around the room, not even flinching at the piercing glare she shot my way.

Holding Victoria's glare, I spoke with a soft voice, “You can put the claws away, Vic. If what you just did is anything to go by, clearly all four of us have at-least one thing in common. We all have to deal with anxiety in some way or other and the panic attacks that come with it.”

Her shoulders relaxed slightly and her glare dropped, though she narrowed her eyes further once the new name registered. “Only my friends get to call me Vic.”

I crossed my arms in defiance. “Well, since you finally dropped your Queen Bee persona long enough to help Kate here despite knowing just how much you screwed up...” I raised an eyebrow at her. “I'm willing to forgive you for the way you've treated me and I'd be honoured if you let me call you Vic.”

Olive branch officially offered. I watched as she hesitantly chewed on her lower lip, considering it. One by one, her guarded walls dropped, exposing the vulnerable and insecure photography student I knew was trapped inside. She smiled for a second, before it turned into a smirk. “Fine. Only if I get to call you Maxine.”

Thankfully the groan that escaped my lips was overshadowed by Chloe's barking laughter. Once Chloe had finally stopped, I saw that she was frowning at her.

Catching her attention, I threw her a smirk of my own. “I'll allow it. Only if you address Chloe by her real name from now on. No more Kari Price.”

She rolled her eyes and huffed dramatically, causing Kate to giggle. _“Good, she's feeling better after you royally fucked up, Max.”_ I thought to myself.

I offered her my hand. “So, are we friends now, Vic?”

After careful consideration, she nodded and extended her own well-manicured hand. “If you insist, Maxine.”

We shook hands and despite attempting to keep it hidden, the giant grin on her face betrayed her true feelings. Vic was actually really glad to be friends with me and if I'm being honest, so was I.

Before we could get too comfortable in the ensuing silence, Kate spoke up. “I don't want to ruin the moment but, um... You still need to tell me how you know I was going to...” She finished the rest of her sentence by flailing her hands in the air, not wanting to say it out loud.

I glanced over at Chloe and had a silent conversation with just our eyes. Eventually, she nodded at me. _“Well, here goes nothing.”_ I thought to myself.

I took a deep breath before turning to stare Kate in the eyes. “Short answer: I have the ability to rewind and travel backwards through time.”


	6. ..."Welcome To 'Innocence Lost'. Trauma Shots Are Free!"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max reveals her secret.
> 
> Then she spends the rest of the evening trying to explain everything.
> 
> It'll be a miracle if she doesn't lose her voice from all the talking.
> 
> The four of them ultimately bond over shared trauma and a mutual hatred for a certain photography teacher.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. So, this is a really long chapter and most of it consists of Max retelling the Week of Hell, with a few reactions and such mixed in. I tried to gloss over all of the unimportant parts but even so, it's a lot to digest and some of the paragraphs are probably longer than they should be. If you want to read it all, that's up to you. I certainly won't blame you for skimming through it, though!
> 
> Enjoy! :)

**Pricefield - Time Warriors**

  
  


**Chapter 6: ...”Welcome To 'Innocence Lost'. Trauma Shots Are Free!”**

  
  


The room was silent for several heartbeats. Kate just sat there and blinked at me in confusion. Victoria, on the other hand snorted and exclaimed, “Well if that's the short version, I sure can't wait to hear the full story!” Then rolled her eyes in disbelief.

  
  


Chloe frowned at her. “Trust me, Chase. You don't want to hear the full story.”

  
  


It was then that Kate spoke up, unnaturally quiet even for her. “I do.”

  
  


Chloe whipped her head around, ready to say something when I cut her off. “Chloe, stop. They need to hear everything. Whether they believe it or not doesn't matter, they just need to know.”

  
  


Chloe's mouth snapped shut and she closed her eyes, focusing on her breathing. Trying to reign herself in.

  
  


Kate spoke again, her voice barely a whisper. “You know I'll always believe you, Max. No matter how unbelievable it is, I trust you. And if being a time traveller is your explanation for how you know about... that, then it's a lot better than anything I can come up with to explain it.”

  
  


Victoria growled in frustration. “What am I missing here? What is it that Kate doesn't want to actually say out loud? Why won't you tell me?”

  
  


I shared a sad look with Kate, and she gulped. I shook my head at her. “I'll get to it once I start explaining everything, it'll be better that way. Just be patient for once, Vic. Please.”

  
  


The pleading tone in my voice must've been enough to soften her expression, as she shuffled back to sit against the wall and crossed her arms, waiting for me to begin.

  
  


Looking between Kate and Victoria, I spoke plainly. “What you are about to hear will sound impossible, ridiculous and fake. Even I will admit that. However, everything I say is one hundred percent true. Some, no, a lot, of this is going to be hard for me to talk about, so try not to ask too many questions until I'm finished.”

  
  


They both nodded and leaned forward slightly, while Chloe gratefully took hold of my hand for support. I'll certainly need it.

  
  


I took another shaky breath, then began. “Okay, so... I have already lived through this entire week once before. So has Chloe. We both have. Like I said, time travel!” I waved my hands theatrically, trying to lighten the tension in the room.

  
  


Victoria was the first one to react. “I know you said it's going to sound impossible, but... yeah, that's impossible, Maxine.”

  
  


Kate shushed her and motioned for me to continue. “I can explain how, of-course, but you'll need to let me go from the beginning.”

  
  


Victoria reluctantly nodded.

  
  


“Well, everything began, uh... technically today, but in a different timeline. Man, this is going to be hard to explain-” Chloe sniggered at that but I chose to ignore her and pushed forward. “It all started in Mr J-Jefferson's class-.

  
  


My accidental stuttering didn't go unnoticed by Victoria, to which she raised an eyebrow but didn't question. Ignoring the shiver creeping up my spine, I kept going. “I must've fallen asleep at my table, where I had this really weird dream. Vision, is probably a better word. I was on the trail leading up the the Lighthouse, in the middle of a storm. When I finally reached the top of the cliff, I saw this crazy massive tornado out to sea, and it was heading straight for the town. It was so windy that a boat was thrown into the Lighthouse and it collapsed on top of me. That's when I woke up in class and almost fell out of my chair.”

  
  


Victoria pursed her lips. “I remember that. You almost falling out of your chair, I mean.”

  
  


I traded a worried glance with Chloe upon hearing that, and muttered, “I guess some things stay the same... I just hope I didn't have the same dream this time around.”

  
  


Kate got my attention and asked, “You don't remember what you dreamed about, uh, this time?”

  
  


I shook my head at her. “The mechanics of time travel are strange-” Chloe snorted but remained silent. “We didn't come into this timeline until slightly after class, which I'll get to in a moment. But basically, the Max you saw today in class, isn't me sitting in-front of you now. We're the same person, same body and all that. I just have different memories and experiences which overwrote hers.”

  
  


Victoria frowned at that. “That sounds-”

  
  


I cut her off. “I know how it sounds and I hate it. That's just the easiest way to explain it. Anyway, once class was over, I went to the bathroom down the hall to splash water on my face. Once I'd done that, I spotted a blue butterfly come in through the open window and land on a bucket around the corner at the end of the stalls. So, naturally, I snapped a photo of it. Take a mental note of that, it'll be important later.”

  
  


They both nodded, and I decided to pull the photo out of my bag so they could see it was real. I carefully placed it on the floor in-front of them. Victoria started reaching to pick it up and I almost bit her head off. “Don't touch it!” She immediately yanked her hand away. “Sorry. Just look at it from where you are. I don't want to risk ripping it, or something. We need it, just in-case...” I trailed off.

  
  


Kate hesitated slightly, but asked, “just in-case what, Max?”

  
  


Glancing at Chloe for a second, I turned back to Kate. “I'll get to that later. Like I said, you're going to have a lot of questions but it'll take me forever to reach the end. If I try to answer everything, it'll just make it all more confusing than it already is.”

  
  


Kate shrugged, so I continued. “Well, a few seconds after I took a photo of the butterfly, the bathroom door burst open.” I locked eyes with Victoria. “When I took a peek around the corner, I saw Nathan walk in. He walked up to the sinks and started babbling like crazy, talking to himself, saying that he owned the school and could blow it up if he wanted to.” Victoria opened her mouth to say something but I raised a hand to silence her, and kept going. “That's when Chloe walked in behind him, though I didn't know it was her at the time since at this point I hadn't seen Chloe in five years, I didn't even recognize her with blue hair. Anyway, they started arguing, over what we'll get into later, but then Nathan pulled out a gun and... and...”

  
  


Thankfully Chloe took over for me. “He shot me, Victoria. Right here-” She pointed at the exact place the bullet entered, both of us no doubt had it seared into our minds forever. “I died.”

  
  


Kate gasped and Victoria's jaw dropped open. I chose that moment to take back control. “At-least she would've done, if I hadn't clumsily hopped around the corner with my hand outstretched. No idea what I thought I could do at the time, but apparently that action somehow activated my powers. Everything kind of slowed to a crawl, before it stopped completely, then went in reverse until I suddenly blacked out and woke back up in class like when I'd had the dream or vision or whatever. Class went exactly the same as it did the first time, which freaked me out so much I knocked my camera to the ground. That's when I thought I'd see if I was going crazy or not, so I stuck out my hand... and everything went backwards again. So after playing around a little by stealing your answers-” I threw a smirk at Victoria before continuing. “I went back to the bathroom and like before Nathan and Chloe started arguing. After rewinding for extra time, I managed to find a way to break the fire alarm in the corner, which distracted Nathan long enough for Chloe to get out of there alive.”

  
  


Victoria opened her mouth to speak, but I pre-empted her question with an answer. “Before you ask how Chloe is alive when there was no fire alarm today, I'll get to that eventually. Pretty much every question you guys have will answer themselves by the time I reach the end.”

  
  


She nodded, so I continued. “Now, I'm going to skip a bunch of unimportant details to save time otherwise we'll be sat here until morning. But eventually I made my way to the parking lot, where Nathan turned up and started harassing me, he somehow figured out I was in the bathroom at the time, even-though I never told the Principal about him waving a gun around because spoiler alert, I'd already tried that and he was absolutely useless. After-all, Nathan is a Prescott, and the Principal eats their money just to keep his drunk ass employed.” Glancing at Kate, I quickly apologized. “Thankfully, at this point Chloe turned up again too. More like she almost ran me over in her truck. I got in, we escaped, and reconnected on the way to her house. After hanging out in her room for a while, we went to the Lighthouse. That's where she told me why she was arguing with Nathan in the bathroom.”

  
  


I looked at Chloe, silently asking if it was okay to tell them. She sighed and spoke up herself. “I ran into Nathan one night at a bar, he was wasted and flashing cash. I thought it'd be an easy score, I needed the money. So we started chatting, then went back to his dorm room. He was one step ahead of me and put something in my beer. He drugged me-” Kate gasped. Victoria went pale. “I woke up to him crawling towards me with a camera. I tried to kick him but broke a lamp instead, somehow that was enough for me to rush out the door before he could stop me.”

  
  


Victoria took a shaky breath, then mumbled to herself. “So that's why his lamp was broken. He told me he'd knocked it over in his sleep-” She blinked once, twice. Then turned to look at Kate, finally putting the pieces together in her head. “Oh god, I didn't want to believe it-” Her breath hitched. “My best friend really did drug you at the party-” All the blood drained from her face. “And I... I just stood there and recorded it. I let it happen-” She glanced down at her shaking hands and muttered, “I'm a monster.” before starting to curl in on herself.

  
  


Upon hearing that, I quickly glanced around the room. Kate was staring blankly at Victoria, not really seeing her, likely trying to make sense of what actually happened to her. Chloe was too proud and stubborn to do anything to convince Victoria otherwise. So it was down to me to save Victoria from her own insecurity.

  
  


Shuffling forward so I was in-front of her, I put on a commanding tone. “Vic, look at me.”

  
  


Victoria blinked. Then slowly looked up. Since I'd never spoken to her like that before, it got her attention well enough. “Good. Now Vic, I need you to listen to me.”

  
  


She nodded slightly, so I hesitantly reached to grab one of her hands, gripping tighter as she tried to flinch away. “Vic, trust me. Yes, you fucked up badly. You need to own up to it and accept that. It does not make you a monster.” She opened her mouth to protest, so I place a finger on her lips to stop her. “Vic, you are not a monster. That title belongs to someone different, which like everything else, I will get to once you calm down enough for me to continue explaining. Can you do that?”

  
  


Reluctantly, she nodded. Then she looked back to Kate, who was now grounded enough to scoot closer as-well. “Kate, I am so fucking sorry. For everything. I-”

  
  


Kate sighed, then blinked before looking her in the eyes. “Victoria, I accept your apology. But I don't forgive you. Not yet. You haven't heard the worst of it, if what Max hinted at is true. Besides, I think we're both going to be flipped on our heads by the end of tonight so we should let them finish before either of us break down completely, okay?”

  
  


Victoria audibly swallowed and nodded at her. Then she dragged herself back into a comfortable sitting position and turned back to face me.

  
  


I took that as my cue to continue the story. “Right after Chloe told me what Nathan had done to her, I kind of half-collapsed on the cliff from another vision, this one came when I was awake, after-all. Though it seemed to be the exact same, with only two differences. The first, I saw a strange ghost-like see-through Doe which lead me up the path to the Lighthouse, dodging fallen trees and logs as I went. Then once I reached the top, it lead me towards the bench, where there was a newspaper caught on the cliff fence. I picked it up and saw the date. It was Friday. This Friday. Meaning, if this vision was real, a massive tornado was going to come five days from now. When the vision ended, I panicked and tried telling Chloe, who just laughed it off as me being silly. Until it randomly started snowing, despite how warm it was. It was clear enough evidence of a storm coming for Chloe to take me seriously. So I explained the day I'd had, much like I am with you two now. Finally, that's the end of the first day.”

  
  


I sighed and flopped back on the floor. Kate got up pulled a bottle of water out of a cabinet, then handed it to me. I gladly took it and almost inhaled the entire bottle in one go. Kate giggled at that, so I playfully threw the empty bottle at her, which she managed to dodge.

  
  


Chloe chose that moment to speak up. “So uh, since you're standing Kate, could you take a peek out of the window to see if it's snowing?”

  
  


Kate shrugged, then made her way over to the window, pulling apart the blinds with her fingers so that she could look out. Chloe was holding her breath while I had my fingers crossed. Kate turned around and saw how tense we were. “You can relax, it's not snowing.”

  
  


Chloe expelled a breath and fist-pumped the air. “Oh thank fuck for that!” She shouted, adding a quiet “Sorry Kate.” afterwards.

  
  


I simply laid back down, my mind buzzing, trying to comprehend what that actually meant. The storm couldn't be tied to my power usage if this was the case. Was it really just fate demanding Chloe must die? Did we actually trick it by bringing Chloe into this new timeline, even if I was the one who changed history by convincing her not to enter the bathroom, rather than Chloe being the one to consciously make the choice to stay away without my influence which is what we planned on doing. Oh well, that's one less obstacle, right?

  
  


Victoria spoke next. “So, wait... Is this storm-tornado-thing real? Did it actually happen?”

  
  


I looked up at Chloe and saw her smirk at Victoria. “Well now, that'd be a spoiler, wouldn't it?”

  
  


Victoria groaned. “Okay, okay, fine. Keep going, Maxine. Just try to speed it up a little more, please.”

  
  


I nodded. “For the most part I'll just give you the cliff-notes unless it's important, or something you need to hear in detail-” I cleared my throat and continued. “Now, the next morning I went to take a shower, obviously-” I caught the look on Chloe's face and punched her in the shoulder. “No Chloe, I'm not giving those details you perv. Anyway, Kate was brushing her teeth when I walked in. She asked for her book back, which I said I'd bring by after my shower. Then I, uh... had my shower.” I locked eyes with Victoria again, causing her to flinch, wondering what I was about to say. “Halfway through, Vic and Taylor walked in, making made fun of Kate and the video. Kate stormed out practically in tears, saying that you'd be sorry someday. You didn't even care, you just wrote a link to the video on the mirror then started talking crap about me before you both walked out.”

  
  


Victoria had started sinking into herself again. “Hey Vic, I didn't tell you that to make you feel worse. I told you because I want to give you the chance to learn from the mistakes your alternate self made. You can start by deleting the video if you haven't done it yet.”

  
  


Victoria looked up. “I already took it down before I decided to come over here. Hearing Kate crying like she was through the wall, it woke something inside me I hadn't felt in a very long time. Remorse.”

  
  


Kate muttered a quiet, “Thank you, Victoria.” to which she nodded in return.

  
  


Stifling a yawn, I spoke. “Right, so after my shower I gave Kate her book back, and that's when she told me about the video and the party. She asked me if she should go to the police-” I turned to Kate and smiled at her. “I said yes. And even knowing what I know now, I'll tell you the same thing. If you want to go to the police, do it. I'll always have your back, Kate. Always.”

  
  


Kate blinked, absorbing what I said. Then she blinded me with her bright smile.

  
  


I continued. “Fast forwarding now. After that, I met up with Chloe in the diner where I proved to her I could rewind time. Then we went to the Junkyard where she forced me to collect bottles for a shooting range, to test my powers.” I turned to glare at Chloe. “For the record, that was absolute torture. Do not make me do that again.” Chloe snorted. “Also, confession time here. I may have made you shoot yourself on purpose as payback for putting me on bottle collection duty.”

  
  


Kate gasped in shock, but Chloe just waved her hand and shrugged. “I figured as much, Max. You rewound so... no harm no foul, right? Besides, you more than made up for it when you shot at Frank to protect me.”

  
  


Victoria spoke up at that. “Wait, Maxine shot at Frank? Frank Bowers? Seriously?”

  
  


I shrugged at her. “Sort of. Right after we'd finished shooting bottles, he turned up demanding the three thousand dollars that Chloe owed him. She may have lost her temper when she saw Frank wearing one of Rachel's bracelets- “I felt Chloe stiffen beside me at that, so I sneakily rested my hand on her back. “Which made him pull out his knife and threaten her. I wasn't going to let Chloe get stabbed so I pulled out the gun and... bang. It was empty.”

  
  


Chloe chuckled. “At-least it scared Frank enough for him to leave with his tail between his legs.”

  
  


I nodded. “After that, we sat on the train tracks nearby, then I got up to take a photo and was randomly hit by another vision. When I came to, Chloe was screaming at me to help her. The idiot got her foot stuck in the tracks and there was a train coming. I had very little time to get her free. At-least I could rewind, right?”

  
  


I could feel my hands starting to shake and clenched them in an attempt to stop it. “I'll spare you the gory details, but full disclosure, let's just say that is one of many PTSD moments I have to deal with now.”

  
  


Kate gasped.

  
  


Victoria swore.

  
  


I smiled sadly. “Oh, it gets worse. Once I'd freed her, she dropped me off at Blackwell for class. That's when I saw Kate talking to Jefferson. She was asking for his help with, well, everything. Yet he didn't want to hear it. He blew her off and even tried to blame everything on her before she stormed off down the hall in tears.”

  
  


Victoria was frowning, at what I wasn't sure exactly. Either the fact that he didn't care, or that I'd slandered her hero. Hopefully it was the former. Kate had slumped against the base of her couch, if I had to guess, she probably worked out what was coming next.

  
  


I sighed. “After an awkward conversation with Jefferson, I went into class. A few minutes into the lesson, Zachary burst into the room shouting about something going on at the girl's dorm. So naturally, everyone got up and walked out, completely ignoring Jefferson. It was pouring with rain, and by the time I reached the dorms most of the school was stood outside-” I choked up then, and glanced over at Kate. “They were looking up at... at...”

  
  


I shuddered and took a shaky breath but was interrupted by Kate. “It's okay, Max. They were... looking up at me, weren't they?”

  
  


All I could do was give a single hesitant nod.

  
  


Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Victoria's jaw dropped in horror. Then she hugged her knees to her chest and started rocking back and forth as tears, real tears, began sliding down her cheeks.

  
  


Kate grabbed my hand, so I took another couple of deep breaths, then spoke. “The second I rounded the corner and saw you up there... y-you jumped. Like, you actually did it. I saw it happen-” That was too much for Victoria. She suddenly scrambled to her feet and tripped a few times stumbling over to the door, where she stood with her back flat against it. As if she desperately wanted to leave but also wanted to force herself to hear every single word to punish herself.

  
  


Chloe, seeing Kate comforting me already, took one look at the sheer devastation on Victoria's face and decided she had to do something. She stood and cautiously made her way towards her. She moved to put a hand on Victoria's arm but she flinched in response.

  
  


Chloe sighed in frustration. “Fuck, Chase. I may not like you but the last thing I'd do right now is hit you. I'm not that much of a jerk. Look, you've clearly suffered enough. The fact you haven't even bothered to hide your tears shows that much.”

  
  


Victoria robotically wiped a finger across her cheek, glanced at it and mumbled, “Oh.” Then she blinked and the tears dripped even faster as she collapsed against the door, sliding down into a crumpled mess at the bottom.

  
  


Figuring she'd just make things worse, she caught Kate's eye and motioned for her to trade places. So they did. Chloe sat down next to me and held my hand while Kate slid down her door and after exchanging a few words, dragged Victoria right into her lap and let her sob onto her shoulder.

  
  


Once her sobbing had quietened considerably, Victoria waved her hand for me to keep talking.

  
  


So reluctantly, I did. “You should know, that although Kate did jump off the roof, I almost killed myself with how determined I was to undo it. I'm exaggerating but that's certainly how it felt at the time.” Kate shot me a grateful smile. “I pushed my rewind to it's breaking point, literally. Somehow I managed to completely stop time. Everything around me was frozen. The people, bird stuck mid-flight. There was no sound. It was quite eerie, actually. I was able to move around though, except it felt like I was wading through quicksand, or mud, something thick. Not sure how to explain it, really. Eventually I dragged myself up to the roof and right when I threw open the roof access door... My powers completely died. My nose was bleeding, heavily. It does that if I push myself too hard. So I couldn't rewind or anything. I had to somehow stop Kate from jumping and I only had one chance to get it right.”

  
  


Both Kate and Victoria were staring at me, waiting for the outcome. I looked up and grinned at them. “I did it.”

  
  


Victoria let out a long breath she was holding, while Kate came over to hug me. Mid-hug, I decided to reiterate my earlier promise. “I told you I will always have your back, Kate. Never, ever, forget that.”

  
  


She hugged me tighter and whispered, “From the bottom of my heart, bless you, and thank you, Max. I will never forget.”

  
  


Then she did something I didn't expect. She kissed me on the cheek. I blinked, and she was gone. Already sat back against the door with Victoria.

  
  


I saw Chloe raise an eyebrow, to which I simply shrugged. Then she smirked and leaned in to kiss me on the other cheek. I turned my head to see Victoria watching with a curious expression and felt myself blushing. Victoria just rolled her eyes at me and said, “No, Maxine, you're not getting one from me.”

  
  


Groaning, I covered my face to hide the increasing intensity of my blush.

  
  


When my face had returned to it's natural colour, I decided to pretend nothing had happened by finishing off my explanation of the second day. “So uh, after I you know, talked Kate down, she was taken off to hospital and I was dragged into the Principal's office to tell them what had happened. Them being the Principal, David – Mr Madsen I mean – and Jefferson. Nathan was there too. As you can imagine, I had a choice to make. I could blame what happened to Kate on Nathan, rightfully so because he drugged her, but since the Principal is such a Prescott fan I was suspended instead due to the fact that I didn't tell him about Nathan's gun at the start, so it was easier for him to assume I was lying-”

  
  


Chloe growled angrily at that but let me continue.

  
  


“Even-though I was the only reason you stepped down from that fucking roof, the Principal ignored what I had to say. He's so full of shit, it's unbelievable. So after rewinding, I tried blaming it on Mr Madsen since he kept on harassing you, following you and taking photos of you. Plus it's his fault the roof access door was unlocked, so seeing him get chewed out by the Principal for that was hilarious. Sadly, blaming him didn't work either because I had no evidence of him harassing you. That's what I got for stepping in to defend you rather than stand there and take a photo while he bullied you. Plus he made a comment about me smoking weed, which was false. It was Chloe's, not mine, I just took the blame for her like a best friend does so that David would leave her alone. The Principal didn't like that and chose to suspend me instead, so I rewound again and had no choice but to point the finger at Jefferson. He was the one to make you cry and I assume that was the final straw pushing you up to the roof. The Principal seemed to accept that, and Jefferson got removed from hosting the Everyday Heroes contest-”

  
  


Chloe made an approving snort then and I quietly hummed in agreement.

  
  


“Of-course later on you can imagine Victoria wasn't too happy about that. She started a website and petition to get him reinstated, not that it worked-”

  
  


Chloe chuckled at that.

  
  


“Anyway, once the office interrogation was done with, I was sat on the campus quad with Warren, telling him all about how I saved Kate, when there was suddenly an eclipse. Unscheduled, according to Warren. That's another sign of the storm coming, so be on the look out for an eclipse tomorrow. There, that's Tuesday done.”

  
  


Victoria sighed and stretched her legs. “I really hope the rest of this goes quicker or I'll fall asleep right here.”

  
  


I smirked. “Well I did warn you it'd take a while to get through. But yes, I think from here on out I shouldn't need to go into too much detail A lot of it's not important to this timeline and will be skipped over. I'd ask if you want a break but I get the feeling you just want to get through it, huh?”

  
  


She huffed then nodded at me, so I dove right back in. “Okay, so basically Chloe woke me up in the middle of the night to meet her on campus so that we could look for evidence about, well... Anything and everything. Things weren't adding up and it was all getting a little suspicious. So we broke into Blackwell since Chloe stole Mr Madsen's keys, though we had to build a, uh... pipe bomb, to blow open the door to the Principal's office. Once inside we looked for clues connecting to Kate, Nathan, David – Mr Madsen sorry – and even Rachel. We came across Nathan's buried Blackwell disciplinary record and discovered some sort of crazy drawing done by Nathan that was actually one phrase written over and over.” I took a deep breath and squeezed Chloe's hand, then continued. “It said 'Rachel in the Dark Room'.”

  
  


Victoria sat up at that. “Wait. A Dark Room? For photography?”

  
  


Reluctantly, I nodded. “Y-Yes-” Wincing at the stutter, I pushed forward. “Though we didn't know what it meant at the time. In hindsight, it was obvious. We stole a suspiciously marked envelope of five thousand dollars supposedly for the 'Handicapped Fund' that never actually got put towards the upgrade, so we Chloe could use it to pay Frank off. After that, we broke into the pool for a midnight swim, at Chloe's insistence. Then we slept at her house to avoid security. In the morning, I went downstairs to have breakfast and Joyce, Chloe's Mom, let me look through some old photos. She gave me one to keep, which was taken the same day William, Chloe's Dad died...” I coughed and cleared my throat before carrying on. “I wandered outside and there was a whole bunch of dead birds lying around, for the record that's the third sign of the storm coming. Then I went back inside, Chloe came downstairs and distracted her Mom so I could search through Mr Madsen's garage files, where I found a whole bunch of surveillance crap. Photos, vehicle tracking coordinates, things like that. Mr Madsen then came home, so we confronted him about taking photos of students which ultimately made Joyce kick him out of the house, to Chloe's delight. After that, we headed to the Two Whales diner to break into Frank's RV to search for more evidence he might've had, as-well as for a reason why he had one of Rachel's bracelets.” I placed my hand on Chloe's back to comfort her, then kept going. “After a lot of talking to people in the diner and a lot of rewinding, I managed to snag Frank's keys. Inside his RV we found his client list and log book of all his deals. We also found, um... evidence of Frank and Rachel being more than friends. Let's just say Chloe exploded at revelation and she lashed out at me since I was the only one left around. She dropped me off at Blackwell without a word, so I went back to my dorm room, sat down on my bed and started looking at the photo Joyce had given me earlier. This is where it gets weird. Somehow I was able to focus on the photo and got... sucked into it, for lack of a better description. I suddenly found myself back in time, in my 8 year old body, the day William was supposed to die. You can imagine what I thought would be a good idea.”

  
  


Kate gasped in surprise.

  
  


Victoria groaned. “You tried to stop it, didn't you.”

  
  


I sighed. “Yeah. Big mistake. Stopping William's death threw me forward in time to the present, just everything was different now. I was apparently popular enough to be a part of the Vortex Club-” I smirked at the expression on Victoria's face and continued. “We seemed to be close friends, or something. I freaked out and left to find Chloe. On the bus ride over to her house, I saw a group of whales dead on the beach, another sign of the storm coming... even in a changed timeline, which was strange. Once I'd reached Chloe's house, William answered the door. He was alive. Of-course, the consequence of saving his life was... Chloe got into a car accident instead and was paralysed from the neck down, slowly dying. I'm going to skip over everything that happened in this new reality because it was a very painful experience, knowing I'd caused Chloe to be like that.” I shuddered at the memory. “Eventually I came across the same photo from William's final day and travelled back through it... I was forced to let him walk out the door and die, just to get back to a healthy Chloe. I even burned the photo before I was pulled forward, just to make sure I wasn't tempted to do that again. So, once the timeline had gone back to normal and I took back control of my proper body, I found myself in Chloe's room. Apparently we were in full-on detective mode to figure out what happened to Rachel. I broke into one of Mr Madsen's garage lockers for more evidence, then we left to quickly visit Kate in the hospital where we discussed our plan to break into Nathan's room to look for clues. Surprisingly you were on board with it and offered up his room number once we got to the boys dorm. Chloe stayed on lookout while I broke in and found a photo of Chloe, drugged, in one of his drawers. That wasn't fun. Other than that, I found a hidden plastic pouch stuck to the back of his couch which contained a phone and a slip of paper with a lot of numbers on it. I quickly exited but Nathan walked into the dorm right as we were making our getaway. He threatened us, but luckily Warren showed up and... well, he kicked the crap out of Nathan as payback for attacking me in the parking lot. Then we left to go pay Frank off and convince him to hand over the code names to his client list so we could decipher the deals in his log book. After an insane amount of rewinding screw ups on both our part, he gave it up. We went back to Chloe's room and put every piece of evidence we'd collected up on a board. It took forever to work it all out, but eventually we tracked Nathan's truck to an old abandoned Prescott barn the day of a Vortex Club party where Rachel first went missing. So we went out there. The barn was creepy but nothing compared to what was hidden underneath by a secret trapdoor. After some messing around, we got the padlock off and opened it, revealing a set of stairs leading to a reinforced steel bunker door. I used one of the numbers from the piece of paper Nathan had hidden on the keypad and managed to get the door open.” I was trying so hard not to start shaking. “Behind it was the D-Dark R-Room.” I mentally cursed my stuttering, which Victoria certainly noticed and furrowed her brow at. “The storm bunker had been repurposed into an elaborate photography studio setup.” My breath caught in my throat as I started recalling memories of what the room looked like. “After a little snooping around, I found a cabinet full of red binders, all with different names on them.” I looked up and saw Kate gulp. Victoria was biting her nails in worry.

  
  


I sighed and took a deep breath. “Kate, your name was on one of them. Inside were posed photos of you, though you appeared unaware of what was happening. Probably from the drugs.”

  
  


Kate froze, her eyes wide in shock. I wanted to hug her but needed to push ahead before I got caught up in the memories, so I turned to look at Victoria next. “There was one with your name on too, however it was still empty.”

  
  


The colour drained from her face, a look of horror took over her expression. I glanced at Chloe and squeezed her hand, then kept going. “There was a binder for Rachel, too. Hers were full of photos, except she was wide awake and very pissed. The last photo in the binder was, um... Nathan posing with Rachel in the Junkyard, and putting her into the ground. Chloe knew the spot so we ran out of the bunker and sped off to the Junkyard. We found the spot and started digging, until... until...”

  
  


I couldn't continue, but Chloe finished for me, despite being in tears already. She manage to croak out, “We dug until we found what was left of her. She's dead. Buried in the Junkyard, right under my fucking nose the entire time. She was dumped in the only place Rachel called home. The Junkyard was our hangout... to think that she died there...” Then she collapsed on herself and broke down crying. Chloe obviously hadn't been able to fully process her grief until now. She was too hell-bent on revenge before, whereas now she finally has the time to let it fully sink in.

  
  


I looked around the room. All of us were in varying states of crying. I cleared my throat and muttered, “I think a group hug is needed. Come here, guys.” Then I opened my arms wide.

  
  


Chloe was the first to oblige since she was still sat right next to me. Kate shuffled over next and finally after some hesitation, Victoria made her way over. We all hugged, tight, and cried into one another's shoulders. We needed the combined support of each other right now, so that we could process our shared grief and trauma together.

  
  


A few minute later, Victoria suddenly spoke up. “I'm going to fucking kill Nathan.”

  
  


I leaned back to look her in the eyes. “You might want to wait until I get to the end of everything.”

  
  


Kate sighed into my shoulder. “Then don't stop now, Max. Just... nobody let go, please.”

  
  


I hummed affirmatively, and picked up where I left off. “After we... found Rachel, Chloe was desperate to kill Nathan too. Not that you can blame her. We were planning on confronting him at the 'End Of The World' party. On our way in, I saw the final indication of the storm's arrival – there were two moons in the sky, one of them overlapping the other, ghostly, see-through and flickering randomly. It was like timelines were bleeding together or something, very weird. Chloe was too focused on revenge to notice it, but I sure did. Anyway, we went inside and asked a bunch of people if they'd seen Nathan around. Nobody had. Eventually I found my way to you, Vic. We assumed Nathan was planning on drugging you at the party since your binder was still empty. So I warned you to stay away from Nathan and not to drink anything. Surprisingly you actually listened to me. Since we couldn't find Nathan anywhere, we left the party, though not before watching Jefferson call you out as the winner of the Everyday Heroes contest. Then as we were walking back to Chloe's truck, she got a text... from Nathan. He said there'd be nothing left of Rachel when he was done. So naturally, we double-timed it back to the Junkyard to stop him.” I sighed. “Obviously it was a trap, and we walked right into it like idiots.” I felt Victoria tense up at that. “We reached the spot where Rachel was buried, except she was still there-” I started shaking, and no doubt they could all feel it. “All of a sudden I got jabbed in the neck with a syringe. The effect it had on me was near-instant and stopped my powers from working properly. I tried to call out to Chloe but by the time she turned around and reached for her gun... She got shot. In the head. I watched as she fell right on top of where Rachel was buried, already dead. The last thing I saw before I passed out... wasn't Nathan.”

  
  


I pulled away and closed my eyes, took a deep breath and opened them again. The unexpected rage burning in my eyes made Kate and Victoria both recoil in surprise, though Chloe appeared just as furious as I was. So I poured as much hatred and venom into my next words as humanly possible. “The person standing over me was... Mark Fucking Jefferson.

  
  


Both Kate and Victoria gasped in shock. Their jaws practically hitting the floor.

  
  


I stared down at my shaking hands and balled them into fists. “I woke up in the Dark Room strapped to a fucking chair.”

  
  


I watched as they stared at me in horror, too stunned to speak. I turned my head to look at Victoria, who audibly swallowed. “I was trapped in the Dark Room... and so were you, Vic.”

  
  


Victoria turned deathly pale and whispered, “No...”

  
  


I shook my head, sadly. “It's my fault. If we weren't tunnel visioning so hard on Nathan, we might've suspected Jefferson. Instead, me warning you about Nathan just shoved you right into Jefferson's hands. I'm so sorry.”

  
  


I sighed as a single tear rolled down her cheek. “It took me so long to get out of that hell hole. Multiple photo jumps and rewinds, manipulating different timelines to change things in my favour. Throughout it all, he told me that Nathan had accidentally overdosed Rachel trying to mimic his work, though I'm not entirely sure he was telling the truth. He also said that he had to kill Nathan after he'd slipped up so badly with us and apparently he even killed you, Vic.” She blanched at that. “He was tying up loose ends and with Chloe already dead I was the last one left. Eventually, I lasted long enough for David – Mr Madsen – to show up after I'd gone back and sent him an anonymous tip about the location of the Dark Room. Several rewinds later and he managed to take down Jefferson without getting shot and freed me. Of-course I couldn't stay in that timeline with Chloe dead so I decided to track down Warren and use a photo he'd taken right before the party so that I could warn Chloe in time. However, getting to Warren was the hard part since the storm I've been mentioning had finally landed, complete with the tornado out at sea. So I stole Jefferson's car to reach the diner where Warren was hiding, and that's when I noticed a voicemail from Nathan. He apologized for everything and said that Jefferson was going to kill him, and that he wanted to hurt me next. I just received it too late...” Victoria sniffled. “Anyway, after being forced to continue on foot, I finally reached the diner and used the photo to go back in time. I warned Chloe and told her to go straight to David and not to leave the house. When I came back to the present, we were standing on the beach, staring down the tornado. Apparently while I was on auto-pilot, that's what I call it when I'm travelling between timelines by the way, I'd told Chloe that we would be safe at the Lighthouse. So that's where we went since it was out of the way of the tornado. However I collapsed before we got there and had a very creepy nightmare. By the time I came to, Chloe had carried me up to the top of the Lighthouse. After realizing that the tornado was probably going to completely wipe out the town, Chloe tried to shove that butterfly photo I told you to remember into my hands. She asked me to go back and let her die so that everyone else could live. Or I could just let the tornado kill everyone while Chloe lives. There's no way I could make a choice like that, so we gambled with a third option instead. I used the butterfly photo to jump back to the bathroom, except I tried to bring Chloe with me so that we could get a second try at the week. It actually worked, for the most part and here we are. So, if there is no storm or tornado coming, we just have to deal with Jefferson and I guess Nathan too... then we've beaten fate.”

  
  


Finally finished and exhausted, I melted into the floor. Everyone was silent for quite some time, digesting all the info I'd just given them. Suddenly, Kate muttered under her breath just loud enough for the rest of us to hear, “Fuck.”

  
  


A heartbeat of surprised silence later, we started giggling and couldn't stop. I guess there was only one way for Kate to appropriately express how she's feeling, and that was to swear.

  
  


Once we'd stopped laughing, I sat up. “Okay guys, listen up. The reason I decided to tell you both everything is because you deserved to know. That, and you're just as involved in this bullshit as me and Chloe are so I needed you to be aware of the truth even if you don't want to help us-”

  
  


Victoria interjected. “Fuck that, Max. Of-course we're helping. You can't dump all of that on us and expect us to pretend nothing is wrong.”

  
  


Kate hummed in agreement.

  
  


I nodded in response. “I was hoping you'd say that. Jefferson may have hurt us before but this time he won't see us coming, especially not when Chloe can come with me when I use my powers. All four of us though? We'll be unstoppable.”

  
  


Victoria smirked. “Oh he's so fucked.”

  
  


Kate snorted at that.

  
  


I yawned loudly. “Ugh. Well I think we should all head to bed now, even if we probably won't get much sleep. Lets meet up in the morning and we can all head to the Two Whales for breakfast, my treat. We can plan our first move there... Just in time for photography class. That's going to suck but together we should be able to survive it.”

  
  


Kate and Victoria nodded. We all stood up and walked to Kate's door. She stayed behind, obviously, while the rest of us headed out into the hallway. Victoria walked over to her door and turned to wave goodnight before entering.

  
  


I turned to Chloe. “Do you want to sleep in my room tonight?”

  
  


Chloe sighed. “I'd love to and I know you'll need the company... but I really should get home and see if step-douche has listened to the ultimatum I gave him earlier. Otherwise I might have to raise some hell.”

  
  


I smiled sadly. “Okay, Chloe. See you tomorrow then. I'll text you in the morning to let you know when to pick me up for breakfast.”

  
  


Chloe nodded, glanced around at the empty hallway and leaned in to give me a quick kiss before turning around and walking towards the exit.

  
  


I was smiling from ear to ear as I made my way back to my own room. A good end to an exhausting day.


	7. The New Queens Of Blackwell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max has a nightmare.
> 
> Max, Victoria and Kate keep each other company, awkward blushing ensues.
> 
> Still reeling from the truth, the three of them adapt their outfits accordingly to reflect the new reality.
> 
> By the time they're done with it, Victoria won't be the only Queen running Blackwell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! I originally planned to rush straight to the Two Whales but decided to flesh out the morning a little, which turned into a lot, leading to me cutting the chapter before they actually got to the Two Whales otherwise I'd be too long. So hopefully this is good enough for you.
> 
> Enjoy! :)

**Pricefield - Time Warriors**

  
  


**Chapter 7: The New Queens Of Blackwell**

  
  


One second I was dreaming about my childhood with Chloe; pirates, adventures, happy fun stuff. The next, I found myself back in the Dark Room tied to that fucking chair again. Jefferson was leering at me from across the room. He just stood there, taking picture after picture, while laughing at me. I knew it was only a nightmare but that didn't stop me from panicking at the very real sensation of my wrists being bound with tape exactly how they were when I was actually here. I began flailing my arms and twisting my hands in an attempt to get myself free. My breathing started speeding up and becoming more erratic the harder I struggled. I vaguely felt my arm make contact with something nearby but considering I had other things on my mind I didn't pay it any attention. Jefferson continued to laugh as I fought against my restraints. That's when I felt myself being shaken violently. At first I thought it was the storm shaking the bunker, in my panicked state I didn't register how little sense that would've made since it was underground. Then I looked up at the ceiling, and saw... not the ceiling? I blinked, trying to focus on the weird shape above me. Blinking a few more times, I realized it was Victoria's face. I heard her saying something. My name, perhaps? That must've been it. I looked away for a split second in my confusion and that's when I suddenly noticed Jefferson was now leaning over me with his predatory grin. He whispered into my ear, “You put on a brave face for your friends, Max. But you can't fool me. I see right through you. You're terrified of me. You know that you can't escape me, Max. I'm a part of you now.” He looked up at the face of Victoria peering down from above and sighed. “I guess that's all for our session today. Until next time, Max.” Then he raised the syringe held in his hand and brought it to my neck. The feeling of it sinking into my skin was enough to force me to wake up, my eyes instantly snapping open.

  
  


I just laid there and focused solely on getting my breathing back under control. After a minute or so, I began to pay more attention to my other senses. That's when I began feeling something soft pressed up against me. I turned my head slightly and blinked. Victoria was laid next to me and staring at me with concern in her eyes. It took several seconds for my brain to kick back into gear and take stock of the situation. Victoria wasn't just laid next to me. She was in my bed. With her entire body curled up against me, except for the one hand currently rubbing her chin.

  
  


Victoria noticed that I'd finally come out of my nightmare and cleared her throat. “You okay, Maxine?”

  
  


I was too frazzled to lie. Groaning, I replied with a quiet, “Not at all.”

  
  


Her brow furrowed slightly. “Want to talk about it?”

  
  


I shook my head. “I'd rather not. At-least not yet, it's too fresh.”

  
  


She nodded at me and thankfully dropped it.

  
  


I turned my head to look her in the eyes and raised an eyebrow at her. “What I do want to talk about though is, um... You know you're spooning me, right?”

  
  


Victoria yelped and scrambled to extricate herself, which resulted in her falling unceremoniously out of my bed.

  
  


I heard a snort coming from across the room and spotted Kate laid on my couch, peeping out of one eye.

  
  


I smiled at Kate and then leaned over the edge of my bed to watch Victoria, her face beet red, trying to sink into the floor. Things were starting to make a lot more sense with both of them in my room. I figured they thought none of us should sleep alone and if my nightmare was any indication, they were right. Glancing towards the window, I noticed that the sun had only just started peeking over the horizon and now that I was on my own, I became acutely aware of how I was still trembling from head to toe.

  
  


I huffed. “I didn't say you could stop, Vic.”

  
  


Her head snapped up to look at me with wide eyes. I didn't think she could blush any harder but she did. All she could stammer out was, “I- uh... what?”

  
  


I rolled my eyes at her. “Relax Vic, I'm just teasing you. But, um-” I blushed slightly. “It was kinda nice and once you stopped I realized how much I was still shaking-” I held out a hand to show her. “See? So I'd appreciate it if you'd hold me again like you were doing before.”

  
  


Victoria hesitated a little before nodding at me. She stood up and reluctantly crawled back into my bed, then slowly curled her arms around me.

  
  


I shuffled further back into her embrace and sighed contentedly, not caring how awkward it felt. Right now I just needed the company.

  
  


I heard Victoria's breath hitch. She froze for a second before relaxing and pulling me closer.

  
  


I yawned. “So, why are both of you in my room? I mean, I can probably guess but I assume there's a story to go with it?”

  
  


Victoria groaned, her breath tickling my neck slightly.

  
  


Kate giggled from the couch. “Well, I couldn't sleep much at all. Granted, I've barely been able to sleep recently anyway because of, you know... Anyway, I was tossing and turning in the middle of the night when I heard Victoria muttering in her sleep, loud enough to hear through the wall. From what I could gather, she was having a nightmare of her own. So I panicked and went to go wake her up-”

  
  


Victoria snorted. “That's an understatement. She practically broke my door down trying to get in, since it was locked. Thankfully the noise was loud enough to wake me up so I let her in. She offered to keep me company but then we thought of you being on your own without Chloe and decided none of us should sleep alone.”

  
  


Kate spoke up again. “Yeah. So, we came into your room and... well, since I still probably wasn't going to get any sleep done, I took the couch and suggested Victoria sleep next to you so that you could keep each other company.” I didn't need to look to know she was smirking. “At first she just awkwardly hung off the edge of the bed but once she fell back to sleep, she kinda naturally gravitated towards you, as if you were a big teddy bear. So clearly she needed the company.”

  
  


I grinned to myself. “Well, I think there's enough room for you to join us, Kate. I don't want you to feel left out. We'll have to get up soon anyway so you might as-well take the opportunity while you can.”

  
  


I tilted my head to look at Kate out of the corner of my eye. I could tell she was blushing but appeared to be considering it. After a moment, she nodded to herself and cautiously made her way over. The bed shifted slightly as she got in. I felt Victoria stiffen when, I assume, Kate shuffled closer to her. Though like me, it didn't take long for her to relax into it. Kate hummed happily and then whispered, “Wow, this really is nice, isn't it?” Causing all of us to start laughing.

  
  


A couple of minutes later, we all managed to fall asleep, Kate included. None of us had any nightmares this time.

  
  


Sadly, we couldn't stay asleep forever. My 7am alarm blaring made sure of that.

  
  


I momentarily forgot that my bed had other people in it. Frustrated with my alarm, I blindly reached over to turn it off... Accidentally groping Victoria in the process. I didn't even realize where my hand was until Kate had turned the alarm off herself and began giggling uncontrollably. I cracked open an eye and saw what she was giggling at. I withdrew my hand, staring at it in horror as I felt myself turning red in embarrassment. That certainly woke me up a lot faster than my alarm ever could. Thankfully, Victoria was a heavy sleeper and neither the alarm nor my groping had woken her up.

  
  


I turned to look at Kate with a mock-glare and muttered, “Don't say a word, Kate. This never happened, understood?”

  
  


Kate glanced at Victoria's still-sleeping form and back to me before smirking. “Of-course. It'll be our secret, Max.”

  
  


I rolled my eyes and slowly extricated myself from Victoria's grasp, then climbed out of the bed, careful not to wake her. Not that it mattered because as soon as Kate did the same, Victoria immediately began to stir.

  
  


Smirking at Kate, I leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Interesting how she wakes up the instant you're no longer spooning her, isn't it?”

  
  


Now it was Kate's turn to blush. Rather than giving me the satisfaction of a reply, she simply swatted me on the arm instead.

  
  


Victoria sat up and yawned. “What time is it?”

  
  


Stretching my arms, I replied, “7am. Just enough time to shower and get ready before we head out to breakfast.”

  
  


She nodded and made her way towards the door.

  
  


Kate smiled at me and said, “See you in the shower room, I guess.” Then followed Victoria out into the hallway.

  
  


Now that I was alone, first thing's first, I got out my phone and texted Chloe.

  
  


Long Max Silver: “Wakey, Wakey, Eggs And Bakey! :D” 07:32am

Captain Bluebeard: “Ugh, already?” 07:32am

Captain Bluebeard: “AND NO EMOJI!!!” 07:33am

Long Max Silver: “Get your ass up and I'll stop. :)” 07:33am

Captain Bluebeard: “Fine! I'm awake now. When am I picking you up?” 07:34am

Long Max Silver: “Be here for 8am. We should be ready by then.” 07:34am

Captain Bluebeard: “Will do, Max. See you soon.” 07:35am

  
  


With that taken care of, I scrolled through social media for a little while then grabbed my shower caddy and headed off to the shower room. When I got there, Victoria was in the middle of brushing her teeth, having already showered. Grabbing my own toothbrush, I stepped up to the sink beside her.

  
  


Victoria stopped brushing and glanced at me. “Caulfield.”

  
  


I looked behind us and saw all the shower stalls were empty, then turned to face her with an eyebrow raised. “There's nobody in the showers. You don't need to be like that, Vic.”

  
  


She huffed. “Yes I do. You didn't see everyone's faces when I knocked on Kate's door yesterday. I can't afford to drop the Queen Bitch persona, it'll be social suicide.”

  
  


I sighed. “Actually I did see their faces. I uh... Froze time when I opened the door, so that I could see what the situation was. Fuck them. It obviously took you a lot of guts to do what you did in-front of everyone, Vic. I can't say I understand the whole social ladder crap but as far as I'm concerned, that doesn't mean you have to be something you're not. Especially not when we have more important things to worry about.” I shot her a pointed look so she knew what I was talking about. “The way you let down all your walls with me, Kate and Chloe was, honestly, amazing. If you want to be better than before, if you want to be nicer than before, then do it. Be the person you want to be, not the one everybody thinks you are.”

  
  


It's easy to tell when Victoria has her mask on and when she's dropped all her defences. The way she holds herself, the way she stands, the way she expresses herself, even the way she talks all changes. This time was no exception, as she stood there absorbing what I'd said, her walls gradually dropped and the mask came off. She glanced around again before pulling me into a quick hug then practically fled the room. Not fast enough to hide the sniffle I heard, though.

  
  


Sighing, I finished brushing my teeth and jumped into the shower. Ten minutes later, I hopped out, dried and walked back to my room. Once inside, I rifled through my wardrobe, picking out a t-shirt featuring a doe on a white background and a pair of jeans. Along with my usual grey hoodie, of-course. The exact same outfit I wore last time around. Not my fault I only have like four different t-shirts. Okay, it is, but still!

  
  


Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I got changed and grabbed my bag, making sure my camera was inside. Then I walked back out into the hallway and spotted Kate coming back from the shower room. She stopped at her door and told me, “I'll be ready in a few minutes, Max. Go see if Victoria's done yet.”

  
  


I nodded at her and walked over to Victoria's door. Taking a deep breath, I knocked. “Vic, it's me. Are you ready?”

  
  


I heard Victoria sigh from inside before she spoke up, “Come in, Maxine. I... need your help with something.”

  
  


Steeling myself for whatever was waiting on the other side, I opened her door and quickly stepped inside.

  
  


What I saw next stopped me in my tracks. Victoria was standing there in the middle of her room wearing an outfit that was nothing like she usually wore. Her walls were completely down and I'd have noticed sooner if I wasn't so shocked at the outfit. She looked totally different. Her insecurity was on full display, she looked so small and vulnerable. I had to mentally slap myself when she mistook my shocked staring for... something else, I'm not sure what, and began hugging her arms around herself.

  
  


I groaned and took a step forward. “Sorry, Vic. I didn't mean to look so, uh... shocked. I just wasn't expecting that.”

  
  


She lifted her head up to look at me. “That's kind of the point. What you said in the shower room really got to me and... well, if I want to change and leave my Queen Bitch persona behind, I figured why not wear the cheapest outfit I have? Honestly, I've been wearing this mask for most of my life so I don't even know what's really 'me' any-more. I know I'm rich as fuck but dressing like it was just a part of my persona so I'd rather not continue that trend, you know?”

  
  


I nodded and finally gave Victoria a proper look over. Gone was the designer make-up, expensive cashmere shirt, jewellery and skirt. In it's place was a very insecure Victoria wearing no make-up at all, a plain yellowish t-shirt, no jewellery and a pair of jeans. Once I'd taken it all in, I spoke. “It's not actually that bad, Vic. It'll do for now until you can find something more your style. Once you figure out what that is. This contrast between old and new is a good way to show everyone that you really are trying to change. I know how insecure you must be feeling right now so a word of advice. Don't be like I was before all this shit happened, don't let people walk all over you. If you have it in you to fight back without slipping the mask back on, go right ahead. If you don't, just say the word and I'll kick their fucking asses for you, okay?”

  
  


Victoria blinked, then gave me a genuine smile. “Thanks, Maxine. I'll be out in a minute.”

  
  


I threw her a small smile back and nodded, then headed back out into the hallway. Kate chose that moment to do the same and I had to do a double-take. Even she had decided to change what she was wearing. She wandered over and awkwardly shuffled her feet before muttering. “Is this too much?”

  
  


I blinked, looking her up and down. She'd swapped out her usual dress outfit for a regular t-shirt featuring a rabbit eating a carrot, a pair of jeans and apparently a denim jacket. That one was the most surprising change. The most shocking one, however, was I noticed a distinct lack of a cross around her neck.

  
  


I hummed. “I think it really suits you, Kate. The denim jacket is a nice touch. I think Chloe is already being a good-bad influence on you.”

  
  


She giggled at that.

  
  


I cleared my throat and asked, “Just one question. I don't mean to pry but uh... Why did you take off your necklace?”

  
  


I watched as Kate swallowed and moved her hand to clutch at the now missing necklace. She caught herself and groaned before responding. “Let's just say... Now that I know that the truth is worse than what I first thought, I'm having a little trouble keeping my faith.” She growled in frustration before continuing. “Especially when most of my f-fucking family will end up treating me even worse once they find out what really happened to me. I'm done being controlled by them.”

  
  


She started to tremble the more she got herself worked up, so I just dove in for a hug. She practically squeezed me to death trying to ground herself. When she finally let go, I said, “You know, Victoria's changed her style too. I feel like I'm the only one who hasn't.” I looked down at my outfit and sighed. “I'm not the shy hipster I used to be. You know what? Screw it, I don't have much in my wardrobe but I'll be right back.”

  
  


I spun on my heel and stomped back into my room, threw off everything, exchanging the doe t-shirt with the black moth-butterfly t-shirt I had on when I was trapped in the Dark Room. _“I was going to burn this but that won't undo the damage he caused. I lost my innocence because of him. I wore this when he broke me. Now I'll wear this when I break him. How fitting.”_ I thought to myself in anger. I swapped out the blue jeans and hoodie for the black jeans and cream-coloured button shirt I wore in San Francisco. This was as 'different' as I could get.

  
  


I sighed, then stepped back out into the hallway where Kate was patiently waiting.

  
  


Kate looked at my changed outfit and nodded. “Nice, Max. I think that represents your new personality pretty well, honestly. Darker but also more confident. I like it.”

  
  


I grinned at her. “Thanks, Kate. It's the best I could do, really.”

  
  


Victoria chose that moment to leave her room, capturing Kate's attention and subsequently causing her jaw to hit the floor in surprise.

  
  


I giggled. “I had the same reaction, Kate.”

  
  


Victoria rolled her eyes. “If you're done staring, can we go now?”

  
  


I turned to Victoria and spoke up. “Oh by the way, I was originally going to suggest you drive with Kate in your car but if you're committing fully to the whole non-rich thing, I'm sure there's enough space for all of us in Chloe's truck.”

  
  


Victoria groaned. “Fuck. Do I really have to choose between my fancy sports car and Chloe's rusty deathtrap?”

  
  


I smirked at her. “Hey, it was your idea not mine.”

  
  


She sighed. “Okay, fine. Normally I wouldn't even go near Chloe's truck but... I'd be rather out of place wearing this while riding a sports car, don't you think? So I'll, reluctantly, pick Chloe's truck.”

  
  


I nodded. “Good choice, Vic.”

  
  


She rolled her eyes at that. “Whatever. I hope you're both ready for the entire school population to be staring at us. I'm certainly not-” She muttered under her breath, “I'm shaking like a fucking leaf here.”

  
  


I watched as Kate glanced down at Victoria's hand, bit her lip and hesitated for a second, then grabbed it with her own.

  
  


Victoria's eyebrows shot into her hair as she looked at Kate who was very quickly starting to blush. “What are you doing?”

  
  


Kate blushed even harder as she stammered out a response. “S-Stopping you from shaking. You may care what people think-” She gained a bit of resolve and pushed forward. “But I don't. Not any-more. So fuck them. If you don't want me to-”

  
  


Victoria suddenly cut her off. “I do. Uh... want you to.”

  
  


Kate blinked, then nodded.

  
  


I snorted. “Okay, now that's been dealt with, let's go show Blackwell who's boss. Just because you're not Queen Bitch any-more doesn't mean you aren't still in charge. In-fact I'd go as far as saying all three of us are.”

  
  


Victoria rolled her eyes at me. “I think that rewind power of yours really has gone to your head.”

  
  


I smirked back at her. “You know what? I'm not even going to deny that because it's probably true. Still, it'd be nice if you shared yours with us. It's only fair, since we're all helping each other through this shit.”

  
  


Victoria groaned. “Fine. Blackwell will have three queens by the time we're done with it.”

  
  


With that said, we finally began walking down the hallway and took a collective deep breath before heading outside.

  
  


Almost immediately, heads turned and people started staring at us. Most of them focused on Victoria, though. In a bizarre turn of events, me and Kate were the ones shooting glares back at those who dared to stare in our direction, while Victoria was struggling to keep her head held high and was pointedly avoiding eye contact with everyone.

  
  


Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Taylor and Courtney making their way over to us. Both of them had vastly different expressions on their faces. A smiling Taylor reached us first. “Well shit, I never thought I'd actually see the day.”

  
  


We all stopped as Victoria turned to face Taylor and managed to give her a small smile. “Yeah, Sweet-T. Queen Bitch is dead. Now it's just Queen Victoria.”

  
  


Taylor smirked. Of-course. You've ranted about doing this for so long but you never actually did it... Until now. What gives?”

  
  


Victoria shrugged. “You've always been a great friend, Taylor. Not like everyone else who only got close to me so they could be a part of the 'elite', so to speak. I had a little help from a few others besides you that gave me enough of a kick up the ass to actually take the plunge.”

  
  


Taylor glanced at me and Kate, then nodded at Victoria.

  
  


Courtney finally reached us with a frown on her face. “What the fuck are you wearing, Victoria? And why are you hanging out with these losers? Did you hit your head or something?”

  
  


Victoria didn't respond. Courtney flinched slightly from the glares me and Kate gave her, while Taylor looked ready to rip her throat out right there and then.

  
  


Since nobody else was speaking, I decided to. “Courtney. You call us losers but we are Victoria's friends. Real friends, unlike you who clearly used her just so that you could climb the stupid social ladder. Well, things are changing at Blackwell and not to toot my own horn or anything but I think at this point me and Kate are much higher on that ladder than you are. Now get the fuck out of our face before one of us does something we won't regret.”

  
  


Courtney frowned and stepped forward at that. “Who the fuck do you think you are? You can't talk to me like that-”

  
  


Victoria looked up and glared so harshly that Courtney almost fell on her ass. “They can if I say they can. And I say they can. But just so the message is clear, I'll say it myself. Despite my new appearance, I still run this shithole. I just won't be treating everyone like shit while doing so. Only those who actually deserve it. Fakers like you, for instance. Oh by the way, you're out of the Vortex Club. Now get out of my sight, Courtney.”

  
  


It was immensely satisfying to watch Courtney's jaw drop. “Y-You can't just kick me out of the Vortex! I'm one of the board members!”

  
  


Victoria smirked. “Actually, I can. I founded the Vortex Club, and ultimately my word is law. A majority vote isn't really necessary, we just do that to give people like you the illusion of control, when you have none. Also, since I'm changing my ways, I'll be changing the Vortex Club accordingly. You'll be gone, and so will Nathan, who I only allowed to be the co-founder because of his daddy's monetary backing, which again I don't need and as the Vortex Club was originally my idea, I still outrank him. For too long did I let idiots run the Vortex Club into the ground. That stops now. Goodbye, Courtney.”

  
  


Bombshell dropped, the three of us walked past her with Taylor bringing up the rear, laughing her head off while Courtney sat on the ground staring after us in shock.

  
  


I looked at Victoria and cleared my throat. “You okay there, Vic?”

  
  


She shrugged in response. “I think so. The only reason I tolerated Courtney for so long is because she was eager to do my homework for me. Again, she'd do anything to climb the social ladder. Funny thing is, she was only the Vortex Club's secretary. A role I invented just to keep her busy dealing with all our crap. I've been waiting for a reason to drop her like a rock and I figured this was as good a time as any.”

  
  


Taylor snorted at that. “Is it true what you said about the Vortex Club? Do you really have full control?”

  
  


Victoria hummed. “Honestly, I'm not sure. It was my idea to create it though and I have my reasons for wanting Nathan gone – Sorry, it's private, Sweet-T – So if he tries to resist then... I'll just have to fight him for it. Or I could disband and recreate it again without him. Either way, I'm tightening my grip on it, regardless of if my new personality ruins my social standing or not.”

  
  


Taylor sighed. “Hopefully it doesn't but even if it does, screw what anyone else thinks so long as you are happy.”

  
  


Victoria smiled and gave her a one-armed hug. “Thanks, Sweet-T. We're heading off to breakfast but I'll catch you later, okay?”

  
  


Taylor nodded and said goodbye before turning around to do whatever it is Taylor does in her free time.

  
  


At this point we'd almost reached the parking lot and after the encounter with Taylor and Courtney, Victoria appeared a lot more confident. Her head was held high and she had a small smile etched on her face.

  
  


After a minute of waiting, Chloe's truck came screeching to a halt next to us. She raised her eyebrows upon noticing our new appearances. Her mouth was still hanging open by the time we'd all squashed ourselves into the truck and closed the door.

  
  


I rolled my eyes at her. “Chloe you can stop staring now. Drive. Two Whales. Food. You can question us later.”

  
  


Chloe blinked, then turned to face forward. She twisted the ignition and smirked at Victoria's groan when the truck struggled to come to life. Eventually, she managed to get the truck to start and, laughing like a maniac, burned rubber before firing like a rocket out of the parking lot. Typical Chloe.


	8. The Breakfast Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe's home situation is discussed.
> 
> Max demonstrates her powers.
> 
> The group accidentally gets flashed.
> 
> A secret is revealed.
> 
> Breakfast is had.
> 
> Plans are made.
> 
> Max completes her new outfit with two valuable items that make her feel ready to kick ass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry this took so long to release. I kinda had to pace myself a little so I don't burn out before finishing a Fic for once. Like I said before, I'm writing this on the fly, so I go wherever it takes me. The result being this Fic turns out a bit messy but that's where your feedback is valuable. For instance, there's a certain bit in this chapter that probably doesn't fit well but I added it since I needed something to break the tension caused by the seriousness behind the breakfast outing, and I couldn't figure out something different to replace it with due to the seating arrangements. Let me know what you think!
> 
> Enjoy! :)

**Pricefield - Time Warriors**

  
  


**Chapter 8: The Breakfast Club**

  
  


After an intense journey filled with potential speeding and traffic violations, potholes, and the truck almost stalling a few times, we eventually made it to the Two Whales diner in one piece, to Victoria's complete and utter surprise. Chloe pulled into the nearest parking spot and cut the engine, exaggeratedly rolling her eyes at the collective sigh of relief from the rest of us. We all scrambled out of the truck and immediately began stretching our legs because fitting four people in the front seat turned out to be a lot more cramped than we expected.

  
  


With our limps popped, we began making our way towards to diner when I noticed Chloe frowning heavily in the direction of Frank's RV, who I assume was lounging on the other side with Pompidou like before.

  
  


In an attempt to distract her, I got her attention and asked, “So Chloe, what happened when you got home last night? Did David heed your warning or is your house now a smoking crater?”

  
  


Chloe blinked, then smirked. “Well, when I got home, he was sitting at the dining table with Mom. Apparently he wanted to wait for me before saying anything to her which was surprising but whatever. Basically he confessed to the cameras, insisting they were only for protection but he did acknowledge his paranoia probably caused him to go overboard and disregard our privacy for which he apologized before promising to take them down. Thankfully he did that first thing this morning. Then he did something I didn't expect. He told Mom that my claims of him hitting me were all true and he never meant to do it, blaming it on his PTSD from the war and fact that I always provoke him. He's not really wrong on that last part, I guess. Though Mom was always insisting that I was lying so when she realized I was actually telling the truth... it almost broke her. She threatened to kick him out and never look back but because of what he did for you, I figured I'd give him a real chance to make up for everything. I suggested he could stay on the condition that he goes to therapy for himself and family counselling for us, to which he almost immediately agreed. So only time will tell if anything improves. Now can we hurry up and order before I starve?”

  
  


I blinked, digesting all the information. Too speechless to respond, I simply nodded and pushed open the door to the diner, leading the way towards our usual table at the end where one by one we filed in. I decided to sit facing the entrance, just in-case anything should happen, while Kate took the window seat next to me. Victoria sat opposite her and Chloe sat opposite me. Once we were all sat down, I glanced around while everyone else browsed the menu. The diner appeared the same as before with one slight difference. Joyce, who was already heading towards us, had a bigger spring in her step than usual and appeared to be... happier? She had a smile on her face at-least, so I guess that's a good sign.

  
  


Joyce reached our table and put on her waitress voice, greeting us warmly before turning to Chloe. “I see you're making friends for a change, huh Chloe?”

  
  


Chloe simply rolled her eyes and pointed across the table at me.

  
  


Joyce turned to me and gasped, only now realizing who I was. “Max! Oh my. It's about time you showed your face here. I'm glad you're back, it's so good to see you.”

  
  


I grinned at her. “Hey Joyce. Me too. It's been way too long.”

  
  


She nodded at that, then turned to Kate next to me. “Oh, nice to see you here, Kate.”

  
  


Kate beamed back at her. “Good morning, Joyce.”

  
  


Then Joyce turned to Victoria and blinked a few times before recognition dawned on her face causing her to frown. “Miss Chase, I do believe you were banned from this establishment after you insulted me and the diner, if I recall correctly.”

  
  


Victoria practically shrank into the corner of her seat and muttered a quiet, “Sorry.” without making eye contact.

  
  


Joyce's eyebrows raised in surprise. “I suppose that's a start. Still, what makes you think I'll serve you now?”

  
  


Victoria opened her mouth to say something but Kate got there first. “I'll vouch for her, Joyce.”

  
  


Joyce hummed at that while Victoria glanced up and shot Kate a small smile. “I'll just take some toast and orange juice, please. I don't want to cause any trouble.”

  
  


Joyce glanced once more around the table and sighed. “Don't be silly. Pick whatever just this once and maybe in the future I'll reconsider allowing you to eat here again-” She cleared her throat and continued with her waitress voice, “Now, what can I get you, girls?”

  
  


Chloe snorted. “The usual, Eggs and Bacon with extra Bacon for me.”

  
  


I rolled my eyes. “You know me, Joyce. Belgian Waffles all the way.”

  
  


Kate hummed in thought. “I think I'll go for some Full Starfish Pancakes and Tea instead of Coffee, please.”

  
  


Victoria huffed. “Fine. I guess I'll have a Breakfast Cheeseburger, then. Still having the OJ, though.”

  
  


Joyce nodded, wrote everything down, then headed back behind the counter.

  
  


I looked over at Victoria and raised an eyebrow. “A Breakfast Cheeseburger? Really, Vic? And here I thought Chloe was the one with bad eating habits.”

  
  


Victoria shrugged. “Well I already look like shit and feel like shit. Why not go all the way and eat greasy burgers too?”

  
  


Chloe snorted. “Thanks for reminding me – What's with the new outfits, guys?”

  
  


I fixed her with a blank stare. “Chloe, knowing you were or would've been drugged by a psychopath teacher who we still have to face in a couple of hours changes you.”

  
  


The instant rise in tension around the table was broken by the sound of Chloe repeatedly facepalming herself in anger. “Sorry. That was stupid of me. I wish I could be there to bash his fucking face in-” Then she abruptly stopped, blinked, then took off her beanie to reveal her fading blue hair before offering it to me. “Here, since I can't be there in person, I'll be there in spirit. I think this would be a nice addition to your new look.”

  
  


Hesitating slightly, I reached across and took it, then I put it on and grinned at her. “Ready for the Mo-” Sadly the rest of my sentence was cut short by Chloe covering her hand over my mouth. To which I responded by licking said hand.

  
  


I smirked at the high-pitched yelp she emitted as she leapt back into her seat and stared at the wet spot on her hand in shock, which elicited giggles from the rest of us.

  
  


It was at this point when our breakfast arrived, stifling the laughter as we all started eating and making occasional small-talk between bites.

  
  


Once the food was consumed, or in Chloe's case, practically inhaled, the conversation turned serious again when Victoria spoke up. “So, Maxine... I don't suppose we could get a demonstration of your powers?”

  
  


I huffed. “I wondered how long it'd take for one of you to ask that. If you insist.”

  
  


Chloe snorted. “Oh this should be fun.”

  
  


I hummed in thought. “Hmm. Okay. I'll start with you, Vic. Do the first thing that pops into your head, then I'll rewind and stop you... Go!”

  
  


Victoria blinked, then yanked her t-shirt over her head and threw it across the diner... To the utter bewilderment of our entire table. Mainly because, apparently, she wasn't wearing a bra... And in her moment of action, she must've forgotten that fact, since she almost screamed and rushed to cover herself when she happened to glance downwards, her face instantly beet-red. There's no denying it, all of us noticed. I mean, we couldn't not notice because we were all looking right at her when she did it. Me and Chloe swiftly turned away though and locked eyes with each other instead. However, in my peripheral vision, I saw that Kate was still staring. Her face appeared quite red too and her eyes were wide in... shock? Awe? Both? It was hard to tell without turning my head in her direction, which meant passing my gaze over Victoria.

  
  


Chloe was the first to get her voice working again. “Well, that happened.”

  
  


I groaned. “It certainly did. How the fuck do I explain this once I rewind?”

  
  


Victoria spoke up, her voice unnaturally high. “Maybe just stop me before I flash you all next time-” She huffed. “Kate, you've seen enough, snap out of it!”

  
  


Kate squeaked and swivelled her head to look out the window, realizing she'd been caught red-handed, or in this case, red-faced.

  
  


Still refusing to look anywhere other than Chloe's eyes, I asked, “So, why was that the first thing that came to mind?”

  
  


Victoria mumbled her answer, “I just hate that t-shirt already. The yellow is so obnoxious.”

  
  


I sighed. “Noted. I'm going back now to save all of us from embarrassment.”

  
  


Then I raised my hand, about to rewind when Chloe reached across the table to grab my other hand and whispered, “I'm coming with you, Max. There's no way I'm forgetting this.”

  
  


I just rolled my eyes and nodded, then activated my power and rewound us back to the moment right before Victoria lifted her t-shirt.

  
  


I dropped my hand, turned to Victoria and said, “I wouldn't do that if I was you.”

  
  


Victoria let go of her t-shirt and raised an eyebrow at me. “Why not?”

  
  


I shot her a mischievous smirk. “Because you're not wearing a bra.”

  
  


She blinked. Then put her head in her hands and groaned. “Please tell me I didn't.”

  
  


Chloe barked a laugh at that. “You sure did, Chase. We all got an eyeful.”

  
  


Victoria frowned. “How would you know?”

  
  


Chloe gave her a sinister grin. “You think I'd let Max rewind something like that without me tagging along? Like fuck am I going to miss the opportunity to never let you live that one down.”

  
  


Kate giggled at that, causing Victoria to roll her eyes. “Ugh okay change of subject please, now it's Kate's turn.”

  
  


I snorted and turned to face Kate. “Hmm. Kate, I want you to write down three things that you're okay with me knowing on this napkin, then I'll rewind and write a response to each.”

  
  


Kate nodded and pulled a pen out of her bag, then pulled the napkin towards her. She thought for a moment before writing something down. Once she was finished, she folded the napkin and hesitantly handed it to me.

  
  


I unfolded the napkin and blinked at the contents.

  
  


  1. _I have a bottle of wine stashed in my room behind my drawer._

  2. _I'd like it if we could play music together with my violin and your guitar at some point._

  3. _I think I might have a crush on the new Victoria. Am I gay? Is that okay? I don't know what to do._




  
  


I smiled at the last one and glanced up to see Kate staring at her shoes. Clearing my throat, I said, “I'll be right back.” Then threw out my hand and rewind to just before Kate picked up the napkin.

  
  


Letting go of time, I grabbed the napkin myself and said, “Okay, this is me writing a response to three things you wrote down. Hold on.” Then chewed my lip in contemplation before writing.

  
  


  1. _You have a bottle of wine hidden behind your drawer. So what? There's nothing wrong with that._

  2. _You want to play music with me. I'd love to! I'm not very good at it but I'm down for a jam session._

  3. _You have a crush on Victoria? I'm not really surprised since you couldn't stop staring at her when she took her t-shirt off in-front of all of us. I won't presume to say you're gay because of it, that's for you to figure out. Though I'm almost certain everyone else at this table is gay too, at-least Victoria's probably Bi. So if you want to try your luck, I'd say go for it. Welcome to the club, Kate. Your secret is safe with me. :)_




  
  


Once finished, I put the pen down, folded the napkin and handed it over to Kate with a knowing grin on my face.

  
  


I watched as she took a deep breath before unfolding the napkin. Her eyes gradually widened the more she read, then she blushed heavily upon reaching the last part and quickly put it in her pocket, out of sight.

  
  


Kate slowly exhaled and looked up. “Okay. I already believed you completely but now I definitely do.”

  
  


Victoria spoke up. “Me too. So, you have powers. But even with those, how are we-” She waved a hand around the table, “Supposed to take down Jefferson? What's the plan, Maxine?”

  
  


I sat up straight and frowned before turning to Chloe. “I hope I'm right in assuming you're still packing David's gun?”

  
  


She raised an eyebrow at me. “Of-course. It's in the truck. Why?”

  
  


I gave her a blank stare. “Because if it comes down to it, I'll put a bullet in the fucker myself and see how he likes being buried in a Junkyard-” Noticing the look on Kate's face, I added, “Last resort, I promise. Though there's only two outcomes to this. Either he's in jail or dead. No way am I letting him get away with what he did to me. To all of us. To Rachel.”

  
  


Chloe sucked in a breath at that and Victoria swore under hers before muttering, “Oh god, she's actually... dead, isn't she? Like, right now.”

  
  


Chloe nodded stiffly, her voice cracking as she replied, “Yeah. She's still in the Junkyard. We'll... have to deal with that, at some point. Hopefully soon.”

  
  


I reached across the table and grabbed her hand. “We will, Chloe. We will.”

  
  


Kate cleared her throat. “Okay so we have your last resort covered. What's the plan for putting him in jail, then?”

  
  


I turned to look at her and shrugged. “Easiest way I suppose would be to just tell David, like we did last time. But there's no rush-” I smirked. “As long as I'm around, Jefferson won't be drugging anyone else, so we have plenty of time to fuck with him first. We could make him think he's going insane with my powers, or just beat the shit out of him then rewind? I don't know. The options are kinda limitless. Though I gotta admit I'm leaning towards wanting to lock him in his own Dark Room and see how he likes being the victim for a change.”

  
  


Kate hummed at that. “I was going to say no to that last one but on second thought... After what he did to me, and you, Max... I like the sound of him getting a taste of his own medicine.”

  
  


Victoria thought for a moment then nodded in agreement. “Me too.”

  
  


Chloe smirked. “Wow, look at you guys, going all hardcore. On behalf of Rachel, I'm totally down for that. She'd love the poetic justice.”

  
  


I nodded. “Alright then. So we have a long-term goal to work on besides just getting him thrown in jail. Good.”

  
  


Victoria coughed. “What do we do about... Nathan?”

  
  


I looked up in thought before saying, “Well since I'm still not sure who really killed Rachel – Jefferson could've been the one to kill her and forced Nathan to pose with her body so he could use him as a scapegoat or something – Or Nathan really did accidentally overdose her himself. Either way we'll need to figure out the truth, easiest way would be to approach Nathan directly and pressure him into telling us. Hopefully if he realizes we're going to bring Jefferson down, he'll jump at the chance to get out from under his thumb before he ends up getting killed for being a liability like in the last timeline.” I turned to face Victoria and sighed. “Since you probably knew Nathan better than anyone, I'll let you decide what his fate should be.”

  
  


Victoria blinked, then slowly exhaled before mumbling, “I thought I knew him.” Then she cleared her throat and continued. “He's always been... unstable at best. His parents never gave him the help he needed and there was only so much I could do to stop him from spiralling completely out of control. I think... He should be sent to a mental health facility so he can at-least have the chance to get the help he's needed this whole time. But if he really did kill Rachel, accidentally or otherwise, then I want nothing to do with him and he should be locked in a psych ward for the rest of his life-” Then she glanced in Kate's direction and added, “Uh, If that's okay with you, Kate?”

  
  


Kate simply shrugged in response. “I've always believed in forgiving people and giving second chances. Like you for example-” She smiled at Victoria before continuing. “So I think I'm fine with Nathan getting the help he obviously needs. Jefferson on the other hand? He's the real monster puppet master and can rot in Hell for the rest of his fucking life, for all I care.”

  
  


Chloe whooped and reached over the table to give her a high five.

  
  


I chuckled. “Then it's settled. We try to help Nathan, if he's redeemable. Meanwhile, to use his own words against him, we frame Jefferson in a dark corner and capture him in a moment of desperation.” I groaned. “Man, how the fuck did I not see him as a creep with a phrase like that?”

  
  


Victoria sighed. “Don't beat yourself up, Maxine. None of us saw it coming. I certainly didn't. I was blinded by my desperation to get into his pants just to win the fucking Everyday Heroes contest. Ugh.”

  
  


I rolled my eyes at her. “Now who's beating themselves up, Vic?”

  
  


Chloe snorted and pulled out her phone to check the time, then swore. “Guys, as much as I'd love to sit here all day, we'll have to get back to Blackwell soon so that you have enough time to prepare yourselves for his class.”

  
  


The rest of us collectively sucked in a breath and paled at that.

  
  


After some stalling, I approached Joyce who promptly refused my attempts at paying for breakfast, insisting it was on her as a welcome back present, so then we reluctantly left the diner with a whopping $30.50 kept in my wallet. I was secretly glad I didn't have to pay for all of that food.

  
  


On our way back to the truck, Chloe glanced over at Frank's RV again and stopped walking. She huffed and muttered, “He deserves to know.” before stomping towards it with the rest of us rushing to keep up.

  
  


Pompidou was the first one to notice us approaching, and promptly started barking his head off, ignoring Frank's command to stop. Which eventually caused him to grumble enough into removing his hat from over his eyes so he could see what was going on. The sight of us four towering over him was enough to make him stand up defensively.

  
  


Frank glanced between the four of us and settled on Chloe with a frown. “Not cool sneaking up on me like that, Price.”

  
  


Chloe crossed her arms. “It's hardly sneaking when your guard dog was trying to alert your lazy ass that we were coming over here, man.”

  
  


Frank rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever. I hope you're here with my money otherwise I'm gonna be real pissed that you woke me up.”

  
  


Hearing that, I protectively stepped up next to Chloe, with Victoria and Kate flanking us both.

  
  


Frank eyed up our display of power with a snort. “The fuck is this, Price. You so scared of me that you need bodyguards?”

  
  


I interjected before Chloe could speak. “She doesn't need a bodyguard. Actually, we're here to make sure she doesn't rip your balls off, Frank.”

  
  


Frank sneered at that. “Oh really? Whatever could I have done to make the legendary Chloe Price want to rip my balls off when I'm the one standing here waiting for the three grand she still owes me?”

  
  


Chloe stepped right into his face and glared at him. “Rachel.”

  
  


Frank blinked. Then proceeded to deflate and collapse back into his chair. “How the f-”

  
  


I interrupted him. “How we know doesn't matter. You just need to hear what we have to say.”

  
  


Frank nodded.

  
  


Chloe took a deep breath to reign in her lingering anger and replaced it with a neutral expression. “Me and you, Frank. We're the only two who can really claim to know the real Rachel Amber. So as much as I hate your guts for going behind my back like you did, you still deserve to know the truth.”

  
  


Frank raised an eyebrow at that. “Which is what, exactly?”

  
  


Chloe closed her eyes, slowly exhaled, then reopened them. “She's dead, Frank. She's been dead this entire fucking time right under our feet in the god damn Junkyard.”

  
  


Frank blinked as the words set in. Then he paled. “No. She can't be. You're lying, please tell me you're lying, Price.”

  
  


Chloe sniffed, then shook her head. “I wish I was, Frank. I wouldn't lie about something like this. She's gone. But we know who did it and we're gonna make them fucking pay.”

  
  


Frank leapt to his feet and snarled. “Tell me who, Price. I'll kill them myself.”

  
  


Chloe simply shoved him back into his chair. “No, Frank. We got this, trust me for once, okay dude? After-all, I still owe you for that shit with Damon, and I know how much that fucked you up, I mean look at you, man. You used to be a chill guy and now you act like a fucking mob boss. I prefer the old you, and I know Rachel did too. So for her sake, go back to that. Leave the ass kicking to us, we have our own reasons for doing this. I'm sure you'll find out soon enough anyway.”

  
  


Frank sank even further into his chair. “Fine, Price. Have it your way.” He hesitated slightly, then dug his hand into a back pocket and pulled out a hefty bag of weed. “Here, Chloe. I'm pretty sure you'll be needing this. And you can forget your debt. Fuck if I care at this point.” He stared morosely at Rachel's bracelet on his wrist and sighed before carefully untying it. “I wasn't the kind of guy Rachel needed in her life, I know that. I expected her to leave me, just not like this. Not like this.” He growled in frustration, then held the bracelet out to Chloe. “Take it. You meant more to here than me. Just don't let them get away with it.”

  
  


Chloe nodded and gingerly took the bracelet from him. “We won't. I promise. You were a good man, once. You can be again. Until next time, Frank.”

  
  


Then we slowly backed away and headed back to the truck, when Chloe suddenly offered me Rachel's bracelet. “Here, Max. To complete your new set of armour. I know the three of us would've become best friends and I'd like to think Rachel will be there with you in spirit when you kick Jefferson's ass.” She glanced at her beanie on my head and smiled. “We both will.”

  
  


Thinking back to the ghost-doe, my guardian spirit animal from the last timeline, I hoped she would be there. I'd need all the help I can get. So I nodded and with Chloe's help, slipped the bracelet on my wrist and tightened it so that it wouldn't fall off. Realizing that it didn't remind me of my wrists being tied up in the Dark Room, I made a mental note of it. _“Thanks Rachel.”_ I thought to myself.

  
  


Then we all climbed back into the truck, still too speechless from the conversation with Frank to make small-talk. Chloe wordlessly turned the ignition, it coming to life with a roar that sounded like the truck wanted revenge too, and we set off towards Blackwell, no doubt all of us dreading what was about to come next.


	9. When Innocence Turns To Corruption, Predator Becomes Prey.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The self-proclaimed Queens Of Blackwell come face to face with the monster for the first time.
> 
> In a classroom.
> 
> What could go wrong?
> 
> Let the games begin!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Not much to say about this chapter other than I don't know if I went too far or not, considering this is their first time facing Jeffershit and it just so happens to be in a classroom with other people. Please let me know how satisfying this was on scale of 1 to 10!
> 
> Enjoy! :)

**Pricefield - Time Warriors**

  
  


**Chapter 9: When Innocence Turns To Corruption, Predator Becomes Prey.**

  
  


We eventually arrived back at Blackwell, the ride over taking longer than it should've due to Chloe's not-so-subtle attempt at delaying the inevitable by taking the scenic route. Reluctantly, Chloe removed her key from the ignition and grabbed David's revolver from the glove box. Then we all stepped out of the truck, stretching our legs once more. We made our way out of the parking lot and towards the fountain, where we stood and stared up at the main building in relative silence.

  
  


That is, until Chloe sighed and turned towards me. “Look, Max. I really, really, don't want you going in there without me. Obviously I can't go in, so I don't know what the fuck to do with myself.”

  
  


I smiled sadly at her then fished around in my pocket to withdraw my dorm key and handed it to her. “Here. I suppose you can wait in my dorm until this is over. It's better than sitting in your truck for an hour, right? Besides, you can keep Lisa company.”

  
  


Chloe just rolled her eyes and swiped the key before muttering, “You and your fucking plants, Max.”

  
  


Kate giggled at that, then groaned as the bell to signal five minutes until class went off. “Go on Chloe, before you get caught by security trying to sneak in.” She glanced at Victoria and then towards me once Chloe had finally began walking towards the dorms. “As much as I'd like to skip class for once, I don't think we should make things worse by being late to photography. Let's just get this over with.”

  
  


Victoria nodded and walked with Kate towards the front steps while I brought up the rear. I almost stumbled right into them when they abruptly stopped right outside the entrance doors. Stepping up next to them, I saw the look of hesitation on their faces.

  
  


Putting a hand on each of their shoulders, I whispered, “No matter what happens, I have your backs. I won't let anything happen to either of you, okay?”

  
  


Kate blinked and nodded at that, though Victoria still looked unconvinced. “Remember Vic, we own this shithole now. Fuck the lot of them.”

  
  


That got her attention, causing her to snort and shake her head clear.

  
  


Satisfied, I turned around and braced my hands against the doors. We all took a deep breath, then I threw them wide open and went in.

  
  


The hallways were filled with students rushing to get to classes, so thankfully only a handful of them had the time to turn and stare in our direction. Ignoring the shocked looks on some of their faces, we made our way down the hall. I looked over at the Vortex Club table off to the side and smirked at the Courtney-less seat. I guess she finally got the hint. When I turned away, I realized both Kate and Victoria had stopped in their tracks again, halfway towards the classroom. I made my way over to see what was wrong. My breath immediately caught in my throat at the sight before us. Jefferson was standing outside the classroom, just like before, in the middle of an intense phone conversation.

  
  


Knowing what I do now, I was extremely curious about who he was talking to. It wasn't Nathan, at-least not last time, since he was sat on my desk at the time. Surprisingly, my nosiness outweighed my fear of seeing him again.

  
  


I turned to the others and muttered, “I'll be right back.”

  
  


Then stomped my way down the hall towards Jefferson, clamping down hard on the nausea that was growing with each step. Once I was close enough, I rewound to the point when he first answered the phone with, “Hello?-” Then swiped the phone out of his hands and froze time. Glancing at the screen, I saw that whoever was calling wasn't on Jefferson's contact list as it was showing up as an unknown number. “Of-course it wouldn't be that easy.” I muttered into the void.

  
  


I sighed, opting to tuck myself in-between the lockers before putting the phone to my ears and unfreezing time to hear the person on the phone speak. “Good morning, Mark. It's Sean Prescott. Can you talk?”

  
  


I shivered involuntarily at the sound of his voice. _“So that's what daddy Prescott sounds like. Ugh.”_ I thought to myself. Thrusting the phone back into Jefferson's hands, I rewound to catch Jefferson's response, “Hello? Yes?-” Then I stole the phone back and put it to my ear again. “It's about our side-project. Are you sure you can talk?”

  
  


I blinked, processing what he said. Then I threw the phone at the wall, watching it shatter before rewinding and freezing for the final time. I was very tempted to listen to the whole conversation but the constant back-and-forth rewinding would be too draining so I'd have to settle for what I got.

  
  


I made my way back to Kate and Victoria's side before letting go of the freeze.

  
  


Victoria turned to look at me with an eyebrow raised. “Okay, so what the hell did you just do?”

  
  


I nodded my head towards Jefferson who was still on the phone. “I got confirmation that Sean Prescott knows about the Dark Room. On the phone, Sean said the words 'our side-project' so he is definitely involved in it somehow.”

  
  


Victoria swore under her breath. “I guess that explains why he pushed for Nathan to be his fucked up apprentice or whatever then, right?”

  
  


I shrugged. “Seems like it.”

  
  


Then I motioned for them to follow me down the hall and into class, pointedly ignoring Jefferson's gaze as we passed by.

  
  


When we stepped into the classroom, I glanced around the room at all the familiar faces, minus Nathan this time. Then my eyes landed on Jefferson's desk and I noticed one of the drawers was secured shut with a padlock. Once again my curiosity got the better of me and I figured now would be a good time to see if I could use my powers with anyone, not just Chloe, so I grabbed Kate's hand and told her to grab Victoria's as-well. When we were all linking hands, I raised my rewind hand and froze time.

  
  


Kate and Victoria both gasped in shock. I turned to them and smirked, “Welcome to my domain.”

  
  


Victoria was too busy staring at everyone frozen in the room to respond.

  
  


Kate on the other hand, grinned at me. “So this is... what you see when using your power?”

  
  


I shrugged. “Well right now all I did was freeze time. Sorry for the surprise, by the way. I knew I could bring Chloe along but wasn't sure if it worked with others. Considering where we are, I thought a field test is in order.”

  
  


Victoria huffed and finally turned to look at me. “Well it works, apparently. I feel weird, though. Sort of tingly but... not.”

  
  


Kate nodded at that.

  
  


I hummed. “That's just the echo of my power you feel. Something like that. Even now I don't know how to explain how this damn thing works. I can apparently sustain my powers for longer by leeching off Chloe when she's linked with me, so if this is anything like that, I'm probably doing the same to you guys too.”

  
  


Kate frowned slightly. “Okay, what are the dangers of... this? The side effects?

  
  


I sighed. “For me, I get a headache which gets stronger the more I use my powers. If I start to hit my 'limit' so to speak, I get a nosebleed. If I overuse my power beyond that, then either my powers just burn out for a while or I end up blacking out. Not sure what effects it has on you guys though. When I tried it with Chloe, she was in a lot of pain at first but that went away once I mentally pushed through a barrier of some kind, which seemed to be stopping me from freely bringing people along. Now that's gone, everything seems to be fine. Just don't let go of each other or me, I don't know what happens if you do.”

  
  


Kate absorbed the information, then nodded and asked, “Okay Max. So I assume there's an actual reason you wanted to freeze time other than testing it on us?”

  
  


I smiled at her then pulled them over to Jefferson's desk and pointed out the padlocked drawer.

  
  


Victoria frowned at it. “I wonder what sick shit he's hiding in there.”

  
  


I glanced over at the expensive camera next to his desk and grabbed it before smirking at Victoria. “Let's find out, shall we?”

  
  


Victoria smirked back at me. “Normally I'd be against breaking such expensive cameras. Not this time. Just pretend you're bashing in his face with his own camera.”

  
  


I rolled my eyes. “He's just over there, I could bash in the real thing right now, if you want?”

  
  


Kate snorted. “There will be plenty of time for that later, Max. Focus on the padlock first.”

  
  


I stuck out my tongue at her then turned back to the drawer, raised the camera into the air and brought it down onto the padlock as hard as I could. The resulting metallic clang reverberated around the frozen room. I raised the camera once more and hit the padlock a second time. Both the padlock and the camera broke apart on the third hit. I dropped the camera unceremoniously to the floor where several more pieces broke off. Then Kate stepped forward and kicked it, hard, across the room where it completely shattered upon hitting the wall.

  
  


Victoria raised an eyebrow. “That's a strong kick you've got there, Kate. I imagine Jefferson wouldn't like it if you ever kicked him in the balls like that.”

  
  


Kate rolled her eyes. “Noted.”

  
  


I snorted and turned back to face the now unlocked drawer. I braced myself for whatever was inside, then yanked it open.

  
  


I blinked and immediately shuddered at the contents of the drawer. There was only two things inside but they both said a lot about Jefferson's real state of mind.

  
  


Kate gasped while Victoria muttered, “What the fuck?”

  
  


I hesitantly reached inside and pulled out a gun, similar to the one Jefferson had hidden in the Dark Room.

  
  


Victoria carefully picked up the other thing with a look of horror and disgust on her face. “Maxine, is this what I think it is?”

  
  


Struggling not to be sick, I nodded. “Yeah... That's the same as the ones he uses in the Dark Room. Holy shit, he actually brought a dosed-up syringe and fully loaded gun to Blackwell... What is this supposed to be for, his emergency back up plan or something?”

  
  


Victoria growled in anger. “Whatever it's for, he isn't fucking keeping it.”

  
  


I nodded and eyed up the gun in my hands before deciding to tuck it down the back of my jeans. “Agreed. Let me take the syringe, Vic. I don't know if you guys can keep things on you through rewinds like I can and I want to call him out with it when class starts. See how he reacts.”

  
  


Kate chuckled. “Oh this should be fun.”

  
  


I dragged them back over to the spot where we froze time and said, “You might want to brace yourselves, I'm going to rewind now.”

  
  


They nodded and held their breath. Taking that as my cue, I raised my hand again and pulled.

  
  


I glanced at them as time began to rewind. They both had their jaws hanging wide open in awe as they stared at our ghosts breaking into the drawer in reverse. Once our ghosts had moved back towards where we were stood, I stopped the rewind and let go of Kate's hand while casually making my way towards my usual table at the back of the room like nothing had happened. I was hardly surprised when Kate and Victoria dragged their seats next to me and collapsed into them on my left, with Kate in the middle. Thankfully leaving my rewind hand unrestricted.

  
  


Kate was the first to say anything and whispered, “That was amazing, Max.”

  
  


Victoria hummed her agreement, too busy trying to make sense of everything to speak.

  
  


Apparently neither of them had realized they were still holding hands under the table so I discreetly nudged Kate to get her attention, then nodded towards their hands and grinned at her.

  
  


Kate's cheeks turned a slight shade of pink but otherwise she just winked at me like it was nothing.

  
  


I narrowed my eyes at her slightly and leaned in to whisper, “So I guess you're taking my advice? You're doing it on purpose and she's the one who hasn't noticed. Very sneaky of you.” Then I smiled at her and added, “She must really like it, huh?”

  
  


She simply rolled her eyes at me but it was still enough to make her blush harder.

  
  


Satisfied, I turned back to face the front of the room right as Jefferson walked in. “Okay everyone, we have a lot to cover today, and so little time, as usual. I see all the usual suspects here-” He glanced around the room and actually flinched at the glares the three of us threw right back at him. He coughed to clear his throat and continued, “Victoria. Kate. Max-” I repressed the urge to shudder when he called my name. “Are you three... okay?”

  
  


Victoria and Kate both glanced at me, unsure what to say, so I decided to take the lead and flip the table on him. Not literally, of-course. Though that was tempting. “Oh I don't know, Mr Jefferson, you can see us, right? Why don't you tell us if we're okay?”

  
  


Jefferson blinked in confusion. “Uh. I'm not sure I-”

  
  


I cut him off by bracing my hands against the table and glaring at him with all the fury I could muster. “Look into my eyes, Mr Jefferson. Tell me, what do you see in them?”

  
  


He raised an eyebrow and took a tentative step closer. I resisted the urge to back away and instead stared him down. Jefferson looked into my eyes and frowned. “Max, what happened to-”

  
  


I shot up out of my chair so abruptly that it tumbled backwards. I spoke through my seething rage, “You happened!”

  
  


Jefferson took a quick few steps back. “I'm not sure what I've done to upset you-”

  
  


Victoria stood up at that, glaring at him with her old Queen B frown-of-fury. “We see you for who you really are, Mark.” His name dripping with venom.

  
  


I watched as Jefferson took another step back. He was clearly making his way towards his desk. He'll be in for a surprise, that's for sure. He crossed his arms. “Okay I've had enough of this, I don't know what's going on here but get out of my classroom, I have photography to teach.”

  
  


Kate snorted at that, and finally stood up herself, shaking with anger. So much anger, that Jefferson almost fell on his ass in shock. “You drugged me and took photos of me while I was unconscious... you fucking piece of shit!”

  
  


The gasps that came from around us made me remember everyone else in the room who up to now had been deadly silent. I guess they never thought Kate would swear. In the few seconds of glancing around the room, I happened to spot a patch of blue poking around one of the open windows. _“Why am I not surprised you stayed behind, Chloe...”_ I thought to myself.

  
  


I turned my attention back to Jefferson just in time to see his jaw drop. Once he got over his initial surprise, he calmly walked over towards his desk.

  
  


I cleared my throat to get his attention. When he looked at me, I pulled out the syringe. “Looking for this?”

  
  


He frowned and looked between the syringe and the currently padlocked drawer. “How did you get that?”

  
  


I rolled my eyes. “Not even going to deny it's yours, then?”

  
  


His mouth began opening and closing, trying to find the right words. Realizing I'd caught him out, he started backing towards the door.

  
  


I smirked at him. “You know, if I somehow got my hands on this syringe, don't you think I'd take the other item locked in that desk of yours?” Then I pulled out the gun, cocked the hammer and pointed it directly at him. Ignoring the panicked gasps from others in the room. “Don't even try to run. I won't hesitate to shoot you right now, fuck knows you deserve it. Step away from the door, you aren't going anywhere until we're done with you.”

  
  


He slowly moved back over to his desk and sat on it. I could see in his eyes that he was panicking and confused but outwardly his entire demeanour had changed into the one I remember so vividly from my time in the Dark Room. “Okay Max. Since you somehow discovered my secret, why don't you tell me how?”

  
  


I narrowed my eyes into slits. “You already looked into my eyes, so you tell me. You like capturing the moment when innocence turns into corruption. That's supposed to be your talent, right? So how do you think I lost my innocence?”

  
  


Jefferson blinked and furrowed his brow. “Well... there's only one way to get the shade of corruption that I see in your eyes, Max...” He glanced at Kate and Victoria. “Kate has it, obviously. Victoria doesn't. You shouldn't either but you do. How is that possible?”

  
  


I laughed at him. “Let's just say you targetted the wrong innocent hipster. You see, Jefferson, I'll admit you did corrupt me. It was horrible. I'll have scars forever to prove it. You just don't remember it because it didn't happen in this timeline. It did in my original one, though.” I saw him raise an eyebrow and I cut him off before he could respond. “Yes, it is exactly how it sounds. You made the mistake of drugging and kidnapping a student who can travel through time. You engineered your own downfall and when we're done toying with you, I will ensure that happens. The way I see it, I am the embodiment of all your past and future victims combined, together we will make sure you pay for everything you've done. The only reason I'm telling you all of this is because once I'm done I'll be rewinding away all of this so that it never happened and frankly I just need to get this shit off my chest.”

  
  


Jefferson sneered at me. “Oh is that all? Then in that case let me get something off my chest too.” He turned his predatory gaze to Kate. “Kate, I thought you might like to know, my session with you created a masterpiece which I currently have set as my computer background. I posed you to perfection, if I do say so myself.”

  
  


Kate's glare didn't waver. She just stared back at him in defiance. You go Kate.

  
  


Victoria was seething. “How dare you speak to her, you fucking monster. Don't even look at her. You have no right to do what you did.”

  
  


Jefferson turned to Victoria and raised an eyebrow. “Victoria, I simply cannot take you seriously when you're wearing something like that. I just have to ask you why?”

  
  


Victoria rolled her eyes. “Isn't it obvious? I may not have, what was it... the right shade of corruption in my eyes? That doesn't mean I'm not one of your victims. In-fact I was one in Max's old timeline. I'm just not from there. If not for Max coming here, I would've been your victim in this one, too. So you see, I may not have been a victim yet, but knowing another version of me was and that I myself could've been one hurts just as much.”

  
  


Kate spoke up to give Victoria a break. “Knowing the truth that you are a monster changed all of us in different ways. It's as simple as that.”

  
  


Jefferson hummed. “Interesting. So, Max... For the sake of the arguement, say I believe you. I'm curious, what was it that made this other me go after you?”

  
  


I shot him a death-glare and decided to try something. “Long story short, Rachel Amber.” I watched as his eyes widened in surprise. “You see, you made the mistake of targetting my best friend's angel and once I came back to town, we turned it upside down trying to figure out what happened to her. We eventually found out you'd killed Rachel and buried her in the Junkyard. Then you lured us into a trap where you killed my best friend and took me.” I tightened my grip on the gun and aimed it higher. “There's just one thing holding me back from shooting you in the fucking face right now for the fact you killed my best friend. Which is that she's no longer dead. However we do know Rachel is still dead and I figure my best friend has got no qualms about blowing your brains out in revenge since this will all be rewound anyway.”

  
  


Jefferson crossed his arms. “Good thing you have the gun and your friend isn't here, then.”

  
  


I simply smirked at him. “Oh, that's where you're dead wrong, asshole.”

  
  


He raised an eyebrow just as a knock came from the window.

  
  


Chloe peeked her head in with David's revolver perched on the edge of the window. All she said when he turned to look at her was, “Knock knock, mother-fucker.” before squeezing the trigger aimed directly at his head.

  
  


The resulting bang was almost deafening in the small classroom. I may not have been willing to pull the trigger in cold blood myself but I took a sick kind of pleasure at the sight of the bullet hole in his forehead, exactly where he'd shot Chloe. I still refused to blink or look away as Jefferson's body crumpled to the floor in a bloody lifeless mess.

  
  


After about a minute of watching the blood pool around his body, I glanced around and saw that Kate and Victoria were still staring too. In the silence I could hear Chloe grumbling to herself about how he deserved a lot more than that. I raised my voice so she'd hear me and said, “Chloe, he'll get what's coming to him, don't worry. I meant what I said about feeling like the embodiment of all his victims and I will make sure they have their revenge, Rachel included.” I rubbed my arm awkwardly. “Thanks for, uh... avenging your own death, Chloe. You even shot him right where he shot you. Karma's a bitch, huh?”

  
  


Chloe looked up and blinked, registered what I'd said, then snorted. “Damn right it is, Max. Though as much as I'm glad I did that, I don't think I want to remember doing it.” Then she turned to Kate and Victoria. “What about you two, are you guys okay?”

  
  


They both glanced at each other before nodding.

  
  


I raised an eyebrow at them. “Seriously. If you guys want to forget this happened I'll just rewind without you. It's fine.”

  
  


Kate turned and looked at me in the eyes. “I never want to forget this moment. Despite the obvious, I think I'll sleep better knowing he paid the ultimate price along the way, even if he only goes to jail at the end. The fact that I can say that so easily... Well, to use his own words, he's corrupted me and I don't care. It is what it is and I'm embracing it.”

  
  


Victoria spoke up. “Yeah, I'm with Kate on this one.”

  
  


I frowned slightly. “If you're sure...”

  
  


Kate sighed and hugged me. “Max, trust me, I'm sure. Fuck him.”

  
  


I pulled back and nodded at her, noticing the intense look on her face. “Okay, Kate. I trust you.”

  
  


She smiled back at me before glancing around the room. “Uh, Max?”

  
  


I followed her gaze and blinked. Everyone else in the class was still hiding under their tables staring at us or Jefferson's body in shock.

  
  


I groaned and collapsed into my chair. “Well this is awkward. Relax guys, it's okay. Well, it's obviously not but you can all go now. I'm sorry you had to see that. If it makes you feel any better, we'll be fixing this so it never happened.” I proceeded to unload Jefferson's pistol, pocketing both it and the magazine separately so everyone could see they weren't in any danger. “You know, I'm kind of surprised David hasn't come storming through the door yet, honestly.”

  
  


Victoria snorted. “Me too, actually. Let's just rewind this now before he does though, yeah? I doubt you can rewind being shot.”

  
  


I nodded and took Kate's hand. “Ready?”

  
  


Victoria shrugged. “Yeah-” Then she looked down and finally, after all this time, realized she was still holding Kate's hand. “Wait. Have we been holding hands this whole time?”

  
  


I raised an eyebrow at Kate. She caught my expression and burst out laughing. She managed to speak between giggles, “Y-Yes we have, Victoria. You j-just never noticed.”

  
  


Victoria had turned bright red but still managed to speak up, “Well it's not like I can let go now, is it?”

  
  


Kate glanced at me and swallowed a lump in her throat before muttering under her breath just loud enough for Victoria to hear, “Please don't.”

  
  


I watched Victoria's eyes widen and I could practically hear her panicking internally until she locked eyes with me. I simply nodded at her and smiled. That seemed to be enough of a hint for her to calm down.

  
  


With Victoria's gay panic crisis temporarily averted, I decided to distract her further by kicking in the rewind. We all stared at Jefferson's body, watching as his blood slowly returned to his insides until the bullet flew out and he came back to life. Then we waited some more, until he began to walk backwards out of the door, signalling the point where he'd entered to start the lesson.

  
  


I let go of the rewind and groaned as we sat back down. “Great, so now we still have to sit through this entire class and listen to this asshole trying to teach us about photography without giving into the urge to kill him a second time.”

  
  


The lack of a reply made me look to my left. Kate and Victoria were apparently lost in their own little world, still holding hands. _“Score one for Team Kate.”_ I thought while grinning to myself.


	10. Enter The Vortex Club!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe suffers a mutiny.
> 
> A plan is made to confront Nathan.
> 
> Max, Chloe, Kate and Victoria attempt to solidify their image as the new Queens Of Blackwell by taking full control of the Vortex Club. Ambitious bunch, aren't they?
> 
> Warren gets shut down for the final time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I have a rough timeline of events I want to happen during this Fic and anything else will come inbetween as I write it. This chapter randomly popped into my head and demanded I write it out, so here you go!
> 
> [Minor edits made to switch this chapter's events around since I accidentally misread Max's schedule and sent them to Science class first when it was actually supposed to be lunch time and then Science class. You can re-read it if you want but it's not necessary. The next chapter will come soon!]
> 
> Enjoy! :)

**Pricefield - Time Warriors**

  
  


**Chapter 10: Enter The Vortex Club!**

  
  


When the bell rang, finally signalling the end of class, we pretty much bowled over everyone else in the rush to be the first ones out of the door. Once we were back out in the relative safety of the hallway, we all let loose a sigh of relief.

  
  


I leaned back against one of the lockers and groaned while rubbing my face. “I swear, if he looked at me like _that_ one more time I was going to get up and rip his fucking eyes out. I feel like I need a shower. Or ten.”

  
  


Kate hummed in agreement. “You're not the only one, Max. Now that we know what he's really like, we see all the details that he somehow keeps hidden from everyone else. The way he looks at certain people, the things he says... it's so disgustingly obvious now. How did we not notice it before?”

  
  


Victoria shuddered at that. “I know, right? At-least we survived without causing any more bloodshed, I suppose. I just hope we didn't tip him off somehow.”

  
  


I shrugged. “He knew something was up the moment he stepped into the room and looked at us. I mean, we're not exactly hiding how he's affected us, are we? I doubt he expects himself as the cause of it, though, so we should be okay.” I sighed and stood back up, motioning for the others to follow. As we walked down the hall to leave the building, I could feel eyes on the back of my head and felt the hairs on my neck begin to stand up. I didn't need to turn around to know he was watching us. Creepy fucking psychopath.

  
  


Now that Photography class was finally over, lunch time had arrived. Not that any of us were particularly hungry after everything that happened with Jefferson still weighing on our minds so we opted to skip lunch and instead headed back in the direction of the dorms to discuss our next move with Chloe, who must've decided to actually wait in my room since she hadn't ambushed us along the way.

  
  


We took a quick detour into Kate and Victoria's rooms to retrieve Alice and Victoria's laptop before entering my room. Only to find that Chloe wasn't waiting for us. In reality, Chloe was curled up on my bed, fast asleep with my one-eyed Captain held tightly in her arms. It was actually kind of cute.

  
  


The sudden snort of laughter that came from Victoria made me slap my hand over her mouth to stop her from waking Chloe up. Once I was satisfied that she'd stay quiet, I removed my hand and slowly crept over to the bed. I removed my camera as silently as possible and beckoned Kate over so that she could place Alice down on Chloe's stomach, then I quickly took a photo and tucked it carefully into my bag along with my camera while Kate picked Alice up again.

  
  


Then I threw a sinister smirk at Kate and Victoria. I pretended to crack my knuckles, then leapt on top of Chloe and shouted, “Mutiny!” while tickling her.

  
  


She woke up screaming, of-course. Whether it was from the shock or the tickle-attack, I couldn't tell. I managed to hold on for about a minute before Chloe managed to throw me off, both of us breathing heavily.

  
  


In the ensuing silence, Victoria muttered, “Well that's certainly one way to wake her up.”

  
  


I snorted. “Yeah, I couldn't resist. Sorry Chloe.”

  
  


Chloe growled at me. “I hope you know I will get you back for that, Max.”

  
  


I smirked. “I'll be looking forward to it, Captain.” Then I discreetly shot her a wink which made her blush heavily once she realized the implication.

  
  


Thankfully, Kate was too busy petting Alice while Victoria was waiting for her laptop to start up so neither of them noticed.

  
  


Chloe cleared her throat. “Not to ruin the mood or anything, but uh... how did everything go?”

  
  


I raised an eyebrow at her. “You know how it went. The non-rewind version, anyway. Your blue hair isn't as invisible as you think it is, Chloe.”

  
  


She huffed at that, then frowned. “Wait. You rewound? What happened?”

  
  


I glanced over at the others and asked, “Should we tell her?”

  
  


Victoria shrugged and without turning away from her laptop, nonchalantly replied, “Chloe, you shot him.”

  
  


Chloe's eyebrows shot up. “I shot-... Oh.” She guiltily pulled David's revolver from under my pillow – apparently she'd slept with it – and placed it on my bedside table before saying, “Maybe you should back up a bit, I need context here.”

  
  


My response was to open my bag and pull out the syringe, then the gun, much to Chloe's surprise. “We found these locked in his desk drawer after breaking it open – which by the way apparently I can bring anyone with me when I use my powers, we used that as a test – so we decided to ask him about what we found. Long story short, it turned into a venting session and once we were done, you uh... shot him so that I didn't have to... For Rachel. You were fine with doing it but just didn't want to remember actually pulling the trigger so you asked us to rewind without you.”

  
  


Chloe's expression softened as she took in what I said before nodding. “Okay then. Well on the plus side, we now have two guns. Maybe we can go break Nathan's kneecaps and steal his too?”

  
  


I snorted. “That's a good point, actually. Not the kneecaps part, though disarming him will be a safe bet. We'll need to confront him at some point to get information about what he actually does for Jefferson and if he really was the one responsible for Rachel's death. We also need to ask him about his father because I managed to listen in on a phone call Jefferson had before class and it seems Sean Prescott is more involved with the Dark Room than we first thought.”

  
  


Chloe frowned. “Fucking hell.”

  
  


Victoria huffed from across the room. “That's exactly what I said.”

  
  


Chloe sighed. “I suppose we could pay him a visit at his room once classes end?”

  
  


I shrugged. “Fine by me.”

  
  


Kate nodded. “Me too.”

  
  


Victoria groaned. “Sure, whatever. Speaking of Nathan, I need to write an email to the student body about, well, the upcoming Vortex Club changes and that probably includes telling them about my new, uh... self. I could use your help with this, guys.”

  
  


I hummed. “Well, it's not like we have anything better to do during lunch.”

  
  


A few minutes later we were all sat on the couch, crowded around Victoria's laptop and trying to figure out the best way to word such a Blackwell-shattering email. Eventually, after a long discussion, several sent texts to Taylor and what felt like thousands of edits, we had managed to compose the following email:

  
  


**From:** _ **VictoriaC@BlackwellAcademy.ed, VortexClubManagement@BlackwellAcademy.ed** _

**To:** _ **AllStudents@BlackwellAcademy.ed, VortexClubSubscriberList@BlackwellAcademy.ed** _

**Subject:** _ **IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT – UPCOMING VORTEX CLUB CHANGES!** _

  
  


**Hey everyone. What I am about to say will come as a surprise to many of you, for varying reasons depending on how you view myself or the Vortex Club as a whole. The contents of this announcement will probably shock Blackwell Academy to its core but this has honestly been a long time coming. Since you'll need context for the upcoming Vortex Club changes, I'll start by talking about myself.**

  
  


**I know my reputation around campus is that of a Queen who rules with an iron fist. I've insulted and hurt a great many of you over the slightest things for which I sincerely apologize. That's right, you read that correctly. I apologize for it all. Suffice to say, when I first arrived at Blackwell Academy three years ago, I wasn't as ice-cold as you all think I am. However, as an aspiring photographer living with rich and well-established photographers and gallery owners as parents, I was brought up with the mentality that only I can be the best at what I do and anyone else must be shoved out of my way by any means necessary, which over time caused me to adopt the 'Queen B' persona you all love to hate. Like I said, this wasn't who I was at the beginning, and I've been struggling with my own identity for quite some time now. Recent developments which I cannot disclose have caused me to finally take the plunge and become my own person, my parent's wishes be damned. So I'm starting by distancing myself from my 'mask', so to speak. This is why some of you may have seen me around campus today dressed like an idiot. Being rich has it's perks, but I don't need it to define who I am, hence the sudden lack of Cashmere sweaters. I do however want to make one thing clear – Just because I may have dropped the old persona doesn't mean I'm not still the Queen of Blackwell. I'm simply not going to be crushing people under my heels any more unless you truly deserve it, so any attempts to take over my status as Queen will be met with the same resistance I've always given. Consider that a friendly warning. Speaking of friendly, since I am attempting to be a 'nicer' person, I am going to be giving clean slates to everyone and reassessing my previous views and attitudes towards certain people who didn't deserve my wrath. If anyone wants to talk to me in person, I promise not to bite off your head going forward.**

  
  


**Now that mess is out of the way, onto the real reason you're all reading this.**

  
  


**When I first took control and created the “new era” of the Vortex Club three years ago, I never envisioned it turning out to be the complete and utter disaster it is today. Many of our members, including those on the Board Committee belong to the wealthy elite who love to party, do drugs, get wasted and use it as a free pass to do whatever the hell they want. Anyone deemed not 'worthy' enough gets bullied, alienated and ultimately discarded like trash. A vast majority of the student body hates the Vortex Club because of it. This is not how I wanted things to be and since I myself am finally changing my ways, as the founder and President of the Vortex Club, I am well within my rights to bypass the Board Committee voting process and now announce the following changes:**

  
  


  1. **The Vortex Club will no longer be “Elite Only”. To be specific, I intend for the Vortex Club to become “All Inclusive”. It will return to it's original intention – To protect students from bullying, while also allowing people to express their concerns over life at Blackwell. Everyone will be welcome, regardless of how rich you are, regardless of social standing, regardless of which groups or cliques you belong to, etc. The Vortex Club will consider, accept and reject new membership applications equally and fairly, effective immediately.**

  2. **I will be putting in place an entirely new Board Committee to reflect the new direction of the Vortex Club. As such, all existing Board Committee members are hereby removed from their positions. If they wish to reapply, they are welcome to do so. They will however retain their existing Vortex Club memberships, with the following specific exceptions being permanently removed, effective immediately. They are as follows:**



        * **Nathan Prescott – Ex Co-President. The reason will be kept private, but I do urge Nathan to visit me in person if he wishes to know why I have ousted a person I considered to be my best friend for years. For those concerned about losing the Prescott's monetary backing, I will be generously providing my own assets to cover any lack of funding that may arise as a result of this.**

        * **Courtney Wagner – Ex Secretary. Simply put, she was never really interested in running the Vortex Club. All she wanted was to use me as a stepping stone to climb the social ladder. I don't take kindly to being used and as such her services will go to someone who is more invested in managing the Vortex Club.**



  1. **Now that the old Board Committee is dissolved, I already have a few candidates to create a new bare-bones Board Committee to manage the new Vortex Club. Including a brand new 'Representation Council' set up with the intention to properly represent some of the diverse cliques Blackwell has around campus so that everyone can be heard. There will be one male and one female to represent each group or clique as fairly as possible (We especially need male applicants ASAP to balance things out), so there are many spaces still available for those who wish to apply. The new bare-bones Board Committee members are also a part of the new 'Representation Council', effective immediately. They are as follows:**



        * **Victoria Chase – President of the Vortex Club. Duh. From this point on I will have ultimate control on the Vortex Club's direction and any policy changes I deem necessary, unless I am unilaterally overridden by my new Co-Presidents. I will also be representing the Vortex Club's interests, on the Representation Council.**

        * **Maxine Caulfield – Co-President of the Vortex Club. Despite my previous attitude towards her, I trust her judgement enough to be one of three others with the power to override any decisions I make. She is also temporarily in charge of disciplining existing members and considering new applications until we get someone else to fill the roll. Since I consider Maxine to be my photography rival, I am allowing her to represent aspiring photographers in my place, as-well as her fellow nerdy hipsters around Blackwell, on the Representation Council.**

        * **Kate Marsh – Co-President of the Vortex Club. As a way of showing how deeply I regret my recent actions towards her and to punish myself for it, I am making her the second of three to have veto power over my decisions. She is also in charge of advertising, designing artwork for Vortex Club related events and will be spearheading our brand new upcoming charity outreach program as a way to make up for all the damage the Vortex Club has previously caused both in and out of Blackwell. Kate will be representing religious students as-well as those who are shy or struggle with mental health issues, on the Representation Council.**

        * **Chloe Price – Co-President of the Vortex Club. Some of you may know her as “the girl who drew graffiti all over the girl's bathroom after being expelled”. It's no secret that we openly hated each other in the past. Now though, we 'barely tolerate' each other and as such I am allowing her to be the third person with the ability to keep me in check. She will also be responsible for planning any and all Vortex Club parties going forward (god help us all). Since Chloe is not actually a Blackwell student, she will be representing the non-Blackwell student population of Arcadia Bay, including the punks, skaters, stoners and nerds who do attend Blackwell, on the Representation Council.**

        * **Taylor Christensen – Secretary and Treasurer of the Vortex Club. The roll of 'Secretary' was actually never an official title so until we decide if it should be scrapped or filled by someone else, I am temporarily combining it with Taylor's existing Treasurer duties to avoid confusion. Also to justify allowing her to continue being the Treasurer, it's simply because she is my only other long-time best friend and I need someone I know I can trust not to let me accidentally blow all of my funding in the first week because that'd suck for everyone if I did. Taylor will be representing those who simply want to learn and get through Blackwell without being a part of any cliques, on the Representation Council.**



  1. **I will be introducing a number of new policy changes regarding what is and is not allowed by Vortex Club members, which includes enforcing stricter rules at Vortex Club events and parties, effective immediately. They are as follows:**



        * **In anticipation of new memberships belonging to anyone and everyone at Blackwell, what you get up to in your spare time is none of mine or the Vortex Club's business. That is, unless it begins to negatively affect the Vortex Club's image or endangers fellow members. Keep your questionable actions to yourself and there will be no problems.**

        * **As I already mentioned, I intend for the Vortex Club to return to it's roots as a protective shield for those seeking refuge from bullies and harassment. Due to this, there will be a zero-tolerance policy towards bullying other students, regardless of if they are Vortex Club members. This also includes a zero-tolerance policy regarding harassment of all kinds as-well as racism. Evidence of or concerns about people who may be doing any of those things is to be brought up with your respective member of the Representation Council in private, who will forward it up the chain so it can be investigated. Any member caught violating this policy in any way will have their memberships instantly revoked, never to set foot in the Vortex Club community again and if necessary the Blackwell Faculty or ABPD will be informed. I will not allow anyone to ruin the image of the Vortex Club ever again and will not hesitate to bring down the hammer, so behave yourselves.**

        * **In regards to concerns over the Vortex Club's past affinity for getting wasted or doing drugs at our events and parties, I am implementing a policy to enforce and restrict the consumption of both so that students who wouldn't otherwise attend our gatherings can do so without feeling unsafe or uncomfortable. As such, the Vortex Club will continue hosting a variety of parties as we have always done on every Friday, with the differences being that the main theme will alternate each week between a party that does not allow alcoholic beverages or the consumption of any drugs, which is then followed by a party the next week that allows both. However, for the parties that do allow alcohol and drugs, there will now be a hard limit of three solo-cups' worth of alcohol per person and the only drugs allowed will be weed. Attendees caught in possession of anything harder, including those in the form of pills, will be immediately ejected from the party and have their membership suspended while a review is conducted. Anyone caught attempting to spike another student's drink, regardless of intention or the drug involved, will have the Blackwell Faculty and ABPD informed on top of everything else. The safety and inclusion of all students is now my top priority. That being said, since we will no longer have the Prescott's monetary backing we may also lose the “blind-eye” that they have obviously been enforcing upon Blackwell and it's security team to let our previous alcohol and drug usage go unchecked. If this happens, I plan to work alongside Principal Wells and Blackwell's head of security, David Madsen, so that we can come to a new arrangement that will satisfy everyone. Also, I will be completely removing the concept of a VIP list. Everyone is treated equally. The existing 'VIP Lounge' will instead be converted into an area for the Vortex Club Board Committee and the Representation Council members to discuss Vortex Club matters in private, rather than being a place for the 'elite' to hold above everyone else. Despite the short notice, these changes will be included in the upcoming Vortex Club party on the 11** **th** **which will be changed accordingly to be a trial-run for our first party that does not serve alcohol or allow drugs on site. Please note, for this party only, you will not need a Vortex Club membership to attend so that you can come and see if the new Vortex Club piques your interest.**

        * **The brand new upcoming charity outreach program organised by Kate Marsh will start off with her already existing Meals On Wheels volunteer group and will later expand into various other events around campus or Arcadia Bay. Now, since Meals On Wheels is a volunteer group, I won't force people to take part if they don't want to. It's not mandatory. However, I expect many of you to at-least give it a shot before writing it off completely. A lot of you could benefit from a little humility, myself included. The first outreach program gathering will be next Monday right after classes are finished and will continue every Monday onwards. Contact our secretary Taylor Christensen or Kate Marsh herself if you have any questions. I hope to see you in attendance.**




  
  


**There will probably be plenty more policy and rule changes once the new Board Committee and Representation Council have their first introductory meeting tomorrow (Meetings are mandatory and held every Wednesday during lunch). I invite the previous Board Committee to attend if possible, with the exceptions I already mentioned above, so that the transfer of power can be completed smoothly and any concerns regarding the change in direction can be addressed privately at the meeting. For anyone who doesn't read this email for whatever reason, there will be a series of posters and leaflets designed by Kate Marsh going up around campus within the next few days, detailing the important points of this email. I thank you all for taking the time to read it and I really hope that the new Vortex Club will be met with a positive response from the student body and faculty. I am committed to turning a new leaf and the Vortex Club will be turning right alongside me. After-all, that's what a vortex does. It turns and sucks you right in.**

  
  


_**Board Committee, Representation Council and Vortex Club membership applications are now open, join today!** _

  
  


**Sincerely,**

**Victoria Chase – President of the Vortex Club.**

  
  


Victoria re-read the draft one more time with her finger hovering over the 'Send' button. “I think this is good now. At-least as good as I can get it. Are you guys sure you're okay will all this responsibility? It's a lot to ask on such short notice.”

  
  


I stretched on the couch before replying. “I'm perfectly fine helping to run a Vortex Club that actually gives a shit about it's members and the students on campus. With or without my powers, I absolutely hate bullies and will relish the opportunity to put them in their place.” I jerked a thumb at Chloe next to me, who had fallen asleep again about halfway through discussing things. “Chloe here may complain about all the things she has to do but I know her well enough to say that she will gladly follow me anywhere, even if it is to run the Vortex Club that she's hated with a passion for years. Besides, I know she's capable of much more than she pretends to be. Before she started at Blackwell she was a massive science nerd and she still is at heart. She'll secretly love the idea of representing her fellow nerds even if she won't admit it out loud.”

  
  


Kate stifled a laugh as Chloe let out a surprisingly loud snore. “Any excuse I have to draw is a good thing as far as I'm concerned and I'm happy to give a voice to the religious groups on campus even if I'm not feeling very religious any more, that doesn't mean I no longer understand the problems they face. Also, I'll gladly jump at the chance to show off my charity work, the more volunteers the better. Arcadia Bay needs all the help it can get thanks to the Prescott's crushing the town under their heel for so long.”

  
  


Victoria nodded but still hesitated to press the button. “Okay but I'm not sure if this is-” I rolled my eyes and pressed the 'Send' button for her. “...Still a good idea. Fuck.”

  
  


I smiled at her. “It'll be okay. You're not alone, Vic. We're all Queens of Blackwell now, assuming the Vortex Club survives the transformation. This will be stressful for all of us but together we can handle it, so if you're worried about how people will see you now that everything's out in the open, you are welcome to wear one of my trusty hoodies to our next class, if you want? They've always helped me feel safer and hide my anxiety, that sort of thing.

  
  


Victoria frowned. “I am Victoria Fucking Chase, I don't give a fuck about what everyone else thinks.”

  
  


I slowly snaked an arm over her shoulder. “Vic. Your mask is slipping.”

  
  


Victoria blinked. Then she leaned into me and promptly broke down. “Shit. Sorry. Fuck, okay give me one of your damn hoodies, it's not like I can look any worse than I already am.”

  
  


I just pulled her into a hug and directed Kate towards my closet so that she give Victoria one of my hoodies to wear. In her fragile state we had to help her put it on and eventually we succeeded in forcing it over her head. “Feel any better?”

  
  


Victoria sniffled loudly. “A little bit. This is actually really comfy, though. I can see why you always wore these, Maxine.”

  
  


Apparently Victoria's mini-breakdown had caused Chloe to wake up. Swiping at her eyes, she mumbled, “What, is it time for you guys to go back to class already?” Then she blinked, taking in her surroundings. She looked from me to Victoria with an eyebrow raised. “Why the hell are you wearing one of Max's hoodies, Chase?”

  
  


Victoria groaned and rubbed her face. “Because I've probably just committed social suicide while you were sleeping.”

  
  


Chloe frowned. “What are you talking-” Then she glanced at Victoria's laptop. “Oh right. Wait. You did it without me?”

  
  


I snorted. “You snooze you lose, Chloe. I suggest you give it a read. Your name comes up.”

  
  


Chloe sighed and pulled the laptop towards her. “You better not have talked shit about me again, Chase.”

  
  


Victoria smirked. “I was tempted but no. You'll see.”

  
  


Chloe made several surprised sounds as she read through the contents of the email. Then her eyes widened and she looked up at Victoria. “Hold on, why are you trusting me with so much power? I'm like, the laziest person on the planet and will probably figure out a way to abuse it, you know how I am.”

  
  


Victoria just shot her a pointed look. “No you won't, Chloe Price. I trust you.”

  
  


Chloe blinked then muttered, “Well, fuck. You just used my full name so you must be serious.” before turning her attention back to the laptop and continued reading.

  
  


Once she'd reached the end, she hummed in thought. “This doesn't actually sound too bad, Victoria. I suppose I can give it a shot.”

  
  


Victoria snorted. “It would've required a miracle to get anything more than that.”

  
  


Chloe opened her mouth to retort but was interrupted by the sound of the five minute bell ringing.

  
  


Victoria immediately deflated and began to curl in on herself again.

  
  


Kate walked over and silently slipped her hand into Victoria's, shooting a glare at Chloe's amused expression.

  
  


It must've done the trick because Victoria blinked twice before frustratedly shaking her head and pulling her hood up. Then she huffed and attempted to steel herself. “Ugh. I can't delay any longer so let's see if everyone tries to walk all over me now that they know the truth.”

  
  


Kate visibly frowned at that and pulled the door open. “They'll have to go through me first.”

  
  


Chloe smirked at me then collapsed back onto my couch.

  
  


I simply rolled my eyes and went out into the hallway, purposely ignoring the smile on Victoria's face. There was no way she wasn't blushing, though lucky for her my hoodie appeared to be keeping it hidden.

  
  


Victoria took one more deep breath before following me out into the hallway alongside Kate.

  
  


Then we made our way down the hall and headed outside to weather the storm together. Give it your best fucking shot, Blackwell. We've survived much worse.

  
  


Surprisingly, we made it back to the main building without any major problems, people simply stared at us and whispered to each other as if we couldn't hear them. Once we entered the Science classroom, I went to sit at one of the tables towards the front of the room, as far away from Jefferson and the Photography classroom as possible.

  
  


Of-course, the instant I sat down, Warren walked in and immediately bee-lined for the stool next to me. Until Victoria suddenly sat on it, that is, much to Kate's amusement. She smirked at me from the table across from us before calling out to Warren and telling him to sit with her instead, causing me to groan inwardly.

  
  


As soon as he sat down, he turned and leaned across the isle towards me. “So... Uh, sorry about yesterday, Max.”

  
  


Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I shrugged instead. “It's okay, Warren. Chloe shouldn't have dropped a bomb on you like that.” Turning to face him, I continued, “However, what she said wasn't wrong.”

  
  


A look of uneasiness crossed his face. “I don't suppose you could clarify what exactly you mean by that?”

  
  


This time I did roll my eyes. “Look, Warren, I get it. You have a crush on me. I'm incredibly dense at times and honestly never even realized it myself until Chloe pointed it out to me. The thing is, I swing for the same team, if you get what I mean. I've never really been interested in guys, so I'm sorry if I unintentionally lead you to believe that I was. I just didn't know how to let you down gently. You're a really great friend, Warren. But that's it. I hope you can accept that?”

  
  


I watched as Warren deflated quicker than a popped balloon. After a few seconds, he looked back up and nodded slightly. “It'll take me some time to adjust... but yes.”

  
  


I sighed in relief and smirked at him. “Good. I hope I didn't knock your confidence too hard because I happen to know someone who _is_ interested in you like that.”

  
  


He raised an eyebrow at me, so I discreetly nodded my head towards Brooke who was sat two tables behind us and glaring daggers into the back of my head.

  
  


After that, Science class went smoothly. The only other noteworthy thing being that Logan almost burned off his eyebrows – which is the least he deserves for what he did to Dana as far as I'm concerned so I didn't bother rewinding to help him – then before we knew it, Science was over and it was time for Media Literacy class. Unlike Science however, Media Literacy dragged on forever, to the point where I almost fell asleep a few times. At long last, the bell rang and we packed up our things in record time before speeding off back to the dorms so we could prepare for our confrontation with Nathan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Over 40K words in 10 chapters so far and we've just reached 1000+ hits. That's around 100~ hits per chapter if my attempt at simple math doesn't fail me. Thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to read 'Pricefield - Time Warriors' up to this point, it really means a hell of a lot to me! <3


	11. Ask Miss Arcadia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max and Chloe recieve a cryptic message.
> 
> The group visits Max and Chloe's pirate tree fort.
> 
> An unexpected visitor drops bombshells.
> 
> Everyone unanimously agrees on a new team name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This chapter is another one that randomly popped into my head and wasn't part of my original planning for this Fic but I wanted to add it anyway. I hope you're okay with it. Let me know what you think!
> 
> Enjoy! :)

**Pricefield - Time Warriors**

  
  


**Chapter 11: Ask Miss Arcadia**

  
  


After several minutes spent double-checking both our guns were loaded properly, making sure that we had everything we'd need and psyching ourselves up, we were ready to pay Nathan a visit. Sadly, it seemed fate had other plans because as soon as we were all about to leave my room, Chloe's phone pinged obnoxiously with a notification.

  
  


Chloe groaned and pulled her phone out of her pocket.

  
  


I watched as Chloe glanced down at the screen and blinked, before her eyes went wide and she dropped her phone in shock.

  
  


I immediately made my way over and laid a hand on her arm. “What is it, Chloe?”

  
  


Chloe simply shook her head and pointed at the phone.

  
  


Victoria picked it up before I got there and frowned at the notification. “Why do you have a notification about 'Ask Miss Arcadia'? I didn't take you for a conspiracy theorist, Chloe.”

  
  


Chloe exhaled slowly. “Because I know what Ask Miss Arcadia's real identity is.”

  
  


Victoria raised an eyebrow. “Okay, I'll bite. Who do you think it is that seems to know everything that goes on in this town?”

  
  


Chloe audibly gulped. “Let's just say that Ask Miss Arcadia hasn't posted anything in around six months.”

  
  


Victoria's brow furrowed for a moment before she looked up. “Wait, are you saying-”

  
  


Chloe cut her off. “Yes. Ask Miss Arcadia is, or was, Rachel. I know this because she told me herself a while back, even showed me her account to prove it.”

  
  


My grip on her arm tightened at that. “So why the fuck did you get a notification that she's just posted something? Rachel's supposed to be dead... right?”

  
  


Chloe blinked a few times, then snatched her phone out of Victoria's hand. “Well there's one way to find out. If someone's managed to hack her account I'm going to kill them.”

  
  


The four of us crowded around as she tapped the notification to open the website and scrolled down to the new post.

  
  


_ **AMA - ASK MISS ARCADIA** _

**Topic: I'm Back!**

  
  


_**Posted 1 minute ago:** _

  
  


**Hello friends! It's been a while, hasn't it? You can take off your tinfoil hats, people. There's no conspiracy here, I simply needed to take some time away. That being said, I'm not ready to return just yet. However, I have a cryptic message that only a certain user who I know still regularly checks this forum will understand the meaning of. So here goes:**

  
  


“ **I speak now to the legendary Pirates of Arcadia Bay. You've already survived one Storm and now you must navigate your way through an entirely different kind of Storm. In the spot where you buried your first treasure you shall find a Doe who will answer the questions you seek. Go now, as it won't be waiting for long.”**

  
  


**Have fun cracking that one, conspiracy theorists!**

  
  


**~Ask Miss Arcadia.**

  
  


Victoria was the first to speak. “Okay, that's fucking weird. But so what?”

  
  


I sighed. “Vic, it's a message for us. Specifically, for me and Chloe. We used to be known as the Pirates of Arcadia Bay when we were younger. Well, we still are, but that's beside the point. Read it again, tell me what you see.”

  
  


Victoria took a closer look and frowned. “Wait, how the hell do they know about the Storm? That was in another timeline and you only told it to those of us standing in this room.”

  
  


Chloe rolled her eyes. “That's Ask Miss Arcadia for you... but this can't actually be Rachel, right?”

  
  


I hummed. “Chloe, you know how you said you saw everything that happened to me in the old timeline when we came to this one? I don't suppose you happened to see a weird ghost-like Doe a few times, did you?”

  
  


Chloe looked up in thought. “I think I did, actually. I saw it twice, when we were at the Junkyard. The first time was when you tried to take a picture of it. The second time, I saw it watching us when we... found Rachel's body. Then it just vanished into thin air.”

  
  


I nodded. “Yeah, I always thought that was her spirit guiding us or something. Maybe it really was, I don't know, but the message says there will be a Doe waiting for us. It's got to be connected.”

  
  


Kate cleared her throat and joined the conversation. “Okay, lets say that's true. Where did you bury your first treasure?”

  
  


Me and Chloe looked at each other and shouted, “The pirate tree fort!” in unison, eliciting giggles from Kate.

  
  


I sighed. “Well, it sounds like we don't have much time to check this out so it looks like we're putting our Nathan interrogation on hold while we go see what the fuck this is all about. I know it's addressed to us but you two are welcome to come too, if you want?”

  
  


Victoria rolled her eyes. “Oh I'm in. No way am I missing out on the chance to see your pirate tree fort.”

  
  


I shot her a glare. “Vic, as your new friend, I will warn you now. If you dare to make fun of our pirate tree fort, I will cunt punt you myself.”

  
  


Chloe snorted. “Damn, Max. You took the words right out of my mouth.”

  
  


Victoria opened her mouth to retort but decided against it. Instead, she grabbed her bag and gestured towards the door. “Well then, lead the way.”

  
  


Chloe huffed before grabbing the keys to her truck and stomping off down the hallway, making us rush to lock my door behind us and catch up.

  
  


The ride over towards the woods north of town was a silent one. The closer we got, the more worried we became that this could be some kind of trap. Not that you could blame us, after-all, we'd already walked right into one of of them last time with disastrous consequences. Eventually, Chloe pulled over at the side of the road where a tiny dirt path was barely visible through the trees and bushes. You wouldn't know it was there unless you were purposely looking for it. That's what made it such a perfect spot to build our pirate tree fort, nobody would be able to find it except us.

  
  


We all got out of the truck and began to make our way along the path. I was at the front with Jefferson's pistol drawn and my rewind hand at the ready, Kate and Victoria were in the middle, while Chloe brought up the rear with David's revolver held at her side. Trap or not, this time we weren't going to be ambushed without a fight. The woods were eerily quiet as the four of us crept our way closer towards the clearing that we knew was just up ahead.

  
  


Peering out from behind the trees and bushes, there seemed to be nobody around. At-least not in the open area of the clearing that we could see. Reluctantly, I stepped out into the clearing with the others following behind me and we carefully headed towards the pirate tree fort which was still stood tall in the centre of the clearing, somehow undamaged by time.

  
  


Once we were close enough, we stood there and stared up at it in silence. Which was soon broken by Chloe who whispered, “Wow. It looks just as awesome as it did the day we built it, Max.”

  
  


I nodded and muttered, “Yeah... But I don't see a Doe anywhere.”

  
  


We all started scanning the edges of the clearing, looking for any sign of the Doe we were supposed to be seeing.

  
  


After a minute or so of nothing happening, we suddenly heard someone clearing their throat behind us.

  
  


The four of us immediately spun around, with both me and Chloe pointing our guns towards where the noise originated from.

  
  


The person leaning against the entrance to our pirate tree fort with their arms crossed and looking like they'd been through hell was none other than Rachel Amber herself. In the flesh. Defying the impossible. Her missing person posters were nothing compared to the beauty of the real thing, it was almost blinding.

  
  


Rachel glanced between us all while we just stood there and stared at her in shock. “If none of you are capable of saying anything, I'd appreciate it if you would at-least stop pointing those guns at me. I didn't survive all this time just to get shot, you know.”

  
  


Chloe was the first to come to her senses. She blinked once, twice, then abruptly dropped the revolver, muttering, “What the fuck.” under her breath.

  
  


Rachel's expression softened as she noticed how close Chloe was to breaking. She glanced at me and smiled sadly before nodding in Chloe's direction.

  
  


That was all I needed to break out of the shock. I immediately leapt towards Chloe and grabbed her before she could collapse to the ground, so instead she clung onto me for dear life and started sobbing into my shoulder.

  
  


Rachel sighed. “I'm sorry, Chloe. There was no easy way for me to do this. I know you'll all have a million questions so once you're ready, I'll answer what I can.”

  
  


Victoria was the first one to actually speak. More specifically, she stormed right up to Rachel and said, “How the fuck are you-” She jabbed a finger into Rachel's chest before continuing. “here right now, Amber?”

  
  


Rachel raised a brow. “Good to see you too, Chase.” She glanced towards me. “The how depends on what you already know. I assumed there would only be two of you coming, not four.”

  
  


Victoria crossed her arms. “I know everything. So does Kate. That's why we came along.”

  
  


Rachel nodded at that. “Well then this should be interesting. Oh and before I forget-” She turned and walked towards me before extending a hand. “It's an honour to officially meet the mysterious Max Caulfield.”

  
  


I swallowed thickly and cleared my throat, then shook her hand. “Right back at you, Rachel Amber. I'm glad to finally meet the real you.”

  
  


Rachel smiled at that, then she looked at Chloe who still had her face buried into my shoulder. She raised a hand and hesitantly placed it on her arm. Chloe flinched but Rachel didn't move her hand away. Instead she spoke gently, “Chloe, I know you never gave up on me, even when all the other fuckers did. You were relentless. I will never forget it, so thank you.”

  
  


That finally got Chloe to look up and attempt to speak. “B-But how? I don't understand... T-This is impossible.”

  
  


Rachel patted her shoulder. “If you're feeling okay enough to hear it, I'll gladly tell it.”

  
  


Chloe reluctantly nodded and pulled away from me slightly but still kept a tight grip on my arm for support. “Well I certainly can't feel any worse so go ahead.”

  
  


Rachel looked around the clearing before gesturing towards the pirate tree fort. “Perhaps it'll be better if we sit up there. This is going to be a bitch to explain.”

  
  


I grinned at that and began dragging Chloe towards it. “Fine by me!”

  
  


After a slight amount of grumbling from Victoria, we walked through the wooden entrance leading to the base of the tree and one by one began climbing up the rope ladder attached to the trunk. Once at the top, I lead the way around the wooden balcony which was surprisingly sturdy for five young adults, then pulled on a hanging rope to drop the front door which doubled as a drawbridge before heading inside.

  
  


I looked around the room and smiled at all the bits and pieces of our childhood. Pirate flags decorated three walls with random photos of our adventures filling in the blank spots, while the fourth wall had a massive couch pushed against it with two swords (Fakes, but don't tell them that!) mounted on the wall above. We even had our own working telescope pointing out of one of the windows.

  
  


Chloe lit up the second she entered the room. “Holy shit this is amaze-balls, Max! It's exactly how we left it.”

  
  


Rachel piped up at that. “It's hella amaze-balls. I know Chloe showed me where this place was once but we never climbed up. Even while I was waiting for you today, I never came up. This is my first time seeing the inside.”

  
  


Chloe nodded. “Yeah... It never felt right coming here without you, Max. This place was sacred to us. It would probably collapse on me as punishment if I ever set foot in here without you.”

  
  


Kate giggled. “It's really cute. I like it.”

  
  


Then we all turned to Victoria who held her hands out defensively. “Max threatened to cunt punt me if I said anything so I'm not even going to try.”

  
  


Rachel snorted. “Wow, Max. You appear to have done something I was never able to. You tamed the Bitch.”

  
  


Victoria frowned and opened her mouth to respond but I got there first. “Rachel, you've got a lot to catch up on, it seems. I don't know what you two were like towards each other before but please go easy on her.” Then I turned to look at Victoria. “Remember what you said about clean slates?”

  
  


Victoria groaned at that. “To say that Rachel is my worst enemy is an understatement. If I offer her a clean slate there's no way she won't use it to overthrow me.”

  
  


Rachel rolled her eyes. “Actually being popular isn't as great as it looks, Victoria. I don't want to take your place, I never have. Honestly, the only real problem I have with you is your bitchiness, which if I'm right in guessing that Max really has tamed you somehow – and I mean that in a good way – then I'll gladly take that clean slate.”

  
  


Victoria narrowed her eyes. “How do I know you're not lying?”

  
  


Rachel's eyes darkened at that. “Because being the most popular girl in Blackwell is why I ended up in the fucking Dark Room in the first place.”

  
  


That shut Victoria up. Well, it shut all of us up.

  
  


Deciding to break the tension, I flopped down onto the couch that could easily fit all of us and said, “Maybe it's time you tell us how you're actually alive right now, Rachel.”

  
  


She reluctantly nodded before taking a seat on the couch beside me, with everyone else doing the same. “I think I'll start by just dropping some bombs on you and go from there.”

  
  


Chloe huffed. “Well? We're waiting, drama queen.”

  
  


Rachel rolled her eyes response. “Fine. This will be hard to explain but here goes... I am the Rachel from your original timeline, at-least in the sense that my consciousness in this body is from there, similar to you two, I suppose. Though the way I got here is far more complicated. First off, I really did die in the old timeline. In-fact my death is what caused the Storm, not you, Max. You see, you're not the only one who has powers because I have my own set of powers too.” She smirked at the shocked expression on my face before continuing. “Basically, I can affect the weather and nature in general but it mostly depends on my emotions and feelings. I can do simple shit whenever I want, however for stronger stuff I need to put some weight behind it, so to speak, which makes it tricky to control. I can also make people see visions while awake or give them dreams while sleeping. Which is where I need to apologize in advance... Chloe, I abused this in the past when we first met, I'm sure you can guess what it was. I wanted to help you but didn't know how, all while struggling with my own problems. It was hella dumb of me. As for you, Max... I'm responsible for the visions you saw. Including the nightmare one.”

  
  


I frowned and opened my mouth to speak when she raised a hand. “Let me finish before you lynch me, please.” When I nodded, she continued. “Okay, so, when I died in the original timeline, I was pretty fucking pissed. Being betrayed by two people I trusted made me cry out for revenge. I wanted to hurt them. Apparently, I summoned the Storm right before I died, without even knowing I'd done it. I only realized my mistake after I died, when I got stuck in what I can only describe as limbo. Perhaps it was because of my power over visions and dreams that enabled me to see the destruction caused by my own stupidity, I'm not sure. All I know is, if the Storm had hit without anything to stop it... Arcadia Bay would have been completely and utterly destroyed at the end of the same week that Chloe gets murdered in the Blackwell bathroom by Nathan. In other words, what you call the 'Week of Hell', only without you there to stop it, Max. I saw how much it hurt you to lose your best friend after five years of no contact without even getting to say goodbye. So, somehow – I'm really not sure how I did it – I channelled some of my own power and gave it to you in the form of controlling time, so that you could have a chance at fixing my mistakes. That's why I gave you visions of the Storm. So you'd be prepared to do... something. I watched you that week from the sidelines, assisting when I could by tapping into your spirit animal – a Doe, it suits you by the way – and acting as a guide so that you'd find my body to give Chloe some closure.”

  
  


I hummed at that. “I had a feeling it was you.”

  
  


Rachel smiled sadly. “Yeah. But don't you see? I manipulated you. Everything that happened to you, and Chloe, during that week is ultimately my fault. I'm sorry, Max. I'm really sorry.”

  
  


I shook my head. “It all turned out okay in the end. You have nothing to be sorry about, Rachel.”

  
  


Rachel frowned and stared down at her hands before muttering, “You ended up in the Dark Room because of me.”

  
  


I inhaled sharply before softening my expression. “Rachel, please look at me.” When she eventually glanced my way, I continued. “I ended up in the Dark Room because Jefferson is a disgusting piece of fucking shit and I am going to make sure he never hurts anyone, us five most of all, ever fucking again. I don't blame you at all so get that bullshit thought out of your head right now.”

  
  


Rachel blinked. “But-” I glared at her. “Okay, okay. Moving on, then. Skip to end at the cliff. I gave you that horrible nightmare vision because I needed you to see that both options you were about to face were unacceptable. I needed you to think of a third option and was fully prepared for me to stop existing or whatever as a result if it meant the Storm would be stopped. However it seems when you went through the photo with Chloe to this timeline, I got pulled through as-well because your power is ultimately a part of me. So while we were in-between time, I tried sending a vision to my new self in the past, right before she got taken to the Junkyard to be killed, warning her of what was about to happen and the consequences of dying. Once we entered the new timeline, I was even worse off since I was no longer tied to my old body. It was like I was floating but couldn't get free due to the fact I was now linked solely to you. That is, until you tried rewinding with Chloe. That thing you felt blocking you? That was the part of me trapped inside you. When you kicked me out, I assumed I was finally going to cease to exist but by some miracle I got thrown into this Rachel's body instead, who had apparently heeded my warning, survived the Junkyard and had been hiding out on the outskirts of town since then. Until I took over, that is, and immediately began planning to return so that I could help you take down the bastards that killed me in the first place.”

  
  


Rachel slumped further down into the couch and sighed. “That's all of it, I think. Now I'll answer questions, any takers?”

  
  


Kate shrugged. “If I hadn't already lost faith in my religion because of Jefferson, I'd probably be having a crisis right now trying to comprehend what you said about being dead while still being able to see and control things from beyond the grave. But at this point I've just learned to roll with it, so... you have powers. Okay then.”

  
  


Victoria groaned. “Suddenly everything makes sense now. You're the reason I was having a lot of weird-ass dreams a while back, huh Rachel? Wow. Just wow.”

  
  


Rachel winced. “I was going to make a joke about you dreaming of me but... You're not wrong. I did it because you were such a bitch, all the fucking time, and nothing I did would change that so I needed a way to get my own back at you. The result being that I may have given you a few dreams and gone overboard with my imagination. For that, I'm sorry. Clean slate or not, I still feel bad about it.”

  
  


Victoria gave a single sharp nod before looking in my direction. Taking the hint, I spoke up. “I don't think I have any questions, really. I'll just reiterate what I already said. It all turned out okay in the end. You're here, alive. So now we have two girls with guns, two girls with powers, a Kate who isn't afraid to swear and nicer Victoria who's learned to toggle her mask on and off when necessary.” I smirked and finished with, “Jefferson and Nathan are 100%, well and truly, completely and utterly fucking screwed. They don't stand a chance against us.”

  
  


Rachel let loose a gentle laugh before turning to look at Chloe and audibly swallowing at the look on her face. “Okay, Chloe. I can tell you've been itching to bring it up so I won't stop you.” She sighed stared her in the eyes. “Let me have it.”

  
  


Chloe blinked and slowly exhaled. “The problem is, I don't know who I'm supposed to be pissed at right now. I mean, at this point there's two of you. There's the you I'm talking to now, from our timeline, then there's the you who owned the body you're now controlling. One of you fucked Frank behind my back, possibly others, then died on me. The other, I assume did exactly the same except when she survived, she went into hiding and never tried to contact me all this time leaving me to assume she was missing or dead when she wasn't.”

  
  


Rachel frowned. “For the sake if it just treat me as both. Fuck knows I deserve it. We deserve it. Whatever.” She waited a few seconds while Chloe simply stared at her. She growled in frustration. “Would you just shout at me or hit me already? Do something for fuck sakes!”

  
  


I could see the war going on inside Chloe's head and was mildly surprised when Chloe ended up closing her eyes and muttering a barely audible, “No.”

  
  


Rachel huffed. “Why not?”

  
  


Chloe shook her head sadly, letting a tear escape down her cheek. “Because I spent six months looking for you, only to find out you'd fucked Frank behind my back. Then I find out you were dead and buried in OUR fucking hideout right under my feet the entire time. I barely had the chance to accept it and mourn that you were gone when suddenly you show up out of nowhere claiming that you were dead but not fully dead because you have powers too, and that you'd managed to somehow make a new version of yourself survive then taken control of it. So you went from missing, to dead, to alive in the span of like, a week. As much as I really want to scream at you right now... I can't. I just can't. I hardly believe what I'm seeing right now and I don't want to risk losing you again, Rach.”

  
  


I watched as Rachel started tearing up at that. Then she abruptly stood and muttered in my ear, “Please, give her a hug for me, Max.” Before storming onto the makeshift balcony outside to be alone with her thoughts.

  
  


The way that everyone had described Rachel back in the old timeline, I had assumed she wouldn't let anyone see her weaknesses like that so easily and it took me a moment to recover from seeing her look so defeated. Then I decided to do exactly what she said, and promptly wrapped Chloe up in a bone-crushing hug which she eagerly accepted.

  
  


Rachel came back in a minute later looking much more composed. She cleared her throat before asking, “So Chloe, do you still have any actual questions about what I said?”

  
  


Chloe looked up in thought for a moment. “My only question is, do you know what I'm about to say next?”

  
  


Rachel raised an eyebrow. “No, I'm not a mind reader, Chloe.”

  
  


Chloe pulled away from me and crossed her arms. “I want you to prove it.”

  
  


Rachel raised her other eyebrow this time. “What do you mean?”

  
  


Chloe smirked at her. “Well, Max here has already proven to all of us that she has powers. Now it's your turn. Show us what you can do, Rach. It's demonstration time.”

  
  


Rachel's response was to flop back down on the couch with a very loud groan. “Chloe, think back to when we first met. Those first three days. I shouldn't need to do anything to prove it, I already did. After-all, I was the one who gave you dreams of your dad... and it was me that caused that massive forest fire, remember? I mean, sure, it was me who kicked the can over in the first place but I was so angry... my powers caused the whole fucking park to light up. It clearly wasn't a regular forest fire. Hell, it only went out after I got put in the hospital by Damon.”

  
  


Chloe frowned. “Huh... That actually makes a lot of sense, now that I think about it.”

  
  


Victoria crossed her arms. “Hold up. It was YOU who caused that forest fire three years ago? What the fuck, Rachel? We almost had to cancel the Tempest production because of you!”

  
  


Rachel shrugged. “In my defence, I did tell you that it was hard to control my abilities when the powerful actions are dependant on my emotions... Like I said I was pretty damn pissed at the time and honestly, that was probably the first time I even realized I had that kind of power. I could do the vision and dream shit since I was a little kid but I never had any idea that I could control the weather or nature until I caused that forest fire.” Then she smirked. “As for the Tempest, I seem to recall you almost ruining the Tempest by attempting to drug my tea. That was a low blow, even for your standards back then.”

  
  


Victoria cringed. “Touché. I'd completely forgotten about that... Fuck. That makes my attempt to change the Vortex Club sound like a huge joke if I did something I'm now claiming to take a stance against.”

  
  


Rachel cocked her head to the side. “You're changing the Vortex Club?”

  
  


Victoria sighed. “Like Max said, you've got a lot to catch up on.”

  
  


Rachel hummed at that. “I guess I do.”

  
  


Chloe cleared her throat. “Never mind that, we're still waiting for you to show us what you can do, Rach.”

  
  


Rachel groaned. “Do you seriously want to risk causing another forest fire, Chloe? It's like you're just asking for me to accidentally burn down your pirate tree fort, is that what you want?”

  
  


Chloe frowned and looked down at her feet. “Well when you put it that way... I suppose it can wait.” Then she pulled out her phone and glanced at the time. “Crap, it's almost 7pm already. What are we going to do now?”

  
  


I shrugged. “Maybe we can finally pay Nathan a visit? It should be easier now anyway with less people hanging around.” Then I turned to Rachel. “Actually, that reminds me, we can just ask you instead... Rachel, who was it that killed you, Nathan or Jefferson?”

  
  


Rachel's eyes darkened at that. “Well, they kept me locked in the Dark Room for something like three months, if I had to guess, before Jefferson and Nathan took me to the Junkyard. When we got there, I remember Jefferson insisting that Nathan pretended to pose with me for some photos, then he told him to go back to the Dark Room and develop the shots while he “finished up”. Once Nathan left, he pulled out a bunch of syringes and... he overdosed me right there in the Junkyard. So Jefferson is the one who killed me. I don't even think Nathan had any idea it was going to happen, though that doesn't make me want to rip him apart any less. In this timeline it went the same way, except from what I recall of this Rachel's memories, she managed to give Jefferson a vision then emptied all the syringes and played dead. She made him think he'd already overdosed her, then she dug her way out of the hole he'd buried her in after he left. As fas as I know, they both think I'm dead right now.”

  
  


All I could say in response was, “Holy fucking shit.”

  
  


Rachel huffed. “That's one way to put it.” Then she smirked. “If you're going to visit Nathan, I'd like to come too. He certainly won't be expecting to see me outside his door, that's for sure.”

  
  


I snorted. “Fine by me, if only to see his reaction to seeing a ghost. Though aren't you worried about people realizing who you are?”

  
  


Victoria sighed, then pulled off my hoodie that she was still wearing before offering it to Rachel. “Here, she might as-well wear this. It'll probably be enough to keep her hidden from view, plus it's really comfy and she looks like she needs it.”

  
  


Rachel raised an eyebrow, before taking it and throwing it over her head. “Damn this is nice. I suppose it'll have to do on short notice.” Then she stood up and stretched. “We good to go?”

  
  


The rest of us stood up and stretched too, then I shrugged. “So long as nothing else sidetracks us this time, sure. Though I think we need a new team name at this point. We've got the 'Pirates of Arcadia Bay and the 'Queens of Blackwell' on the same side. Should we just combine it into 'Pirate Queens' or something?”

  
  


Rachel snapped her fingers and grinned. “I've got it. How does the 'Time Warriors' sound?”

  
  


I looked up in contemplation for a moment before nodding. “Better than my idea. Fuck it, why not? Those who agree, raise your hands.”

  
  


Wordlessly, five hands shot into the air, with only a slight eye roll coming from Victoria.

  
  


I smirked. “Alright then, we have our new team name. Time Warriors, lets go scare the shit out of Nathan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I know how worried some of you will be at this unexpected twist, I'm going to try to alleviate your concerns now by saying:
> 
> There will be no Amberpricefield in this Fic.
> 
> Rachel will not be getting in the way of Pricefield at all.
> 
> She will be around in purely a friendship capacity.
> 
> The reason I gave Rachel a way to return like this is because I wanted to give her the opportunity to get her own revenge, just like Max, Chloe, Kate and Victoria. Considering the premise of this Fic, it suddenly didn't feel right leaving her dead and buried like that, so I figured I'd stretch the theories of LIS and BTS into a way for her to survive.


	12. I'm The Ghost In The Back Of Your Head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The newly formed group of five Time Warriors finally get the opportunity to interrogate Nathan without getting sidetracked.
> 
> The question is, will they learn anything useful?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I'm back! In the words of Ask Miss Arcadia, there's no conspiracy here. I just needed to take a break... and it unfortunately lasted twice as long as I expected which resulted in me really having to push myself just to release this today so that I wasn't gone for more than a month. I'm incredibly sorry for vanishing on you guys like I did, especially right after introducing Rachel into the story. My depression causes me to lose and gain the urge to write at random so new chapter updates tend to vary after a while. There can be consistent daily updates one minute, then you blink and suddenly there's a month long break. It's as frustrating for me as it is for you as readers, believe me. But I swear this will be the first Fic I finish, no matter how long it takes. Now, since I've been gone for a month, I might be a little rusty (again) but hopefully this will be good enough for you all. Let me know what you think!
> 
> Enjoy! :)

**Pricefield - Time Warriors**

  
  


**Chapter 12: I'm The Ghost In The Back Of Your Head**

  
  


The walk back down the trail towards Chloe's truck was a silent one, all of us too busy contemplating what would happen when we finally knocked on Nathan's door to make small talk. When we eventually reached the truck, it dawned on me that there was now five of us... and just one cramped little truck. Chloe seemed to come to the same conclusion upon opening the driver's side door and sitting behind the wheel, where she groaned under her breath.

  
  


I jumped in from the passenger side and slid my way across the bench to sit next to her, then sighed. “Just when I thought the ride here was bad enough, now we have to fit Rachel into this thing too.”

  
  


Chloe shrugged a shoulder. “I guess one of you will have to sit in the back of the truck, sorry guys.”

  
  


Victoria scoffed and rushed through the open passenger side door before anyone else could get in. “Like fuck am I going to be the one sitting in the back of this rust bucket.”

  
  


Rachel rolled her eyes and looked like she was preparing to drag Victoria out of the truck when Kate made her way over to the open door and smirked. “Well if you want to be the selfish one, I suppose one of us will just have to sit on your lap.” Then she promptly crawled inside and sat on Victoria's lap before she got a chance to protest, much to Rachel's astonishment.

  
  


It took a few seconds for Victoria's brain to reboot, and by that point Rachel had jumped inside and shut the door. Realizing she was stuck with Kate sitting on her lap for the entire ride back to Blackwell, she huffed and tried her best not to blush, ultimately failing when Kate shifted in her lap and leaned back into her.

  
  


I couldn't contain my laugh any more at the sight of a tomato-faced Victoria being squashed into the seat while Kate gleefully used her chest as a makeshift cushion. On the other side of them, I caught Rachel's bewildered expression and discreetly shot her a wink. Once she understood what I was getting at, we took turns at making fun of Victoria while Kate just pretended to sleep, though eventually she actually fell asleep and considering how comfortable she looked, I couldn't blame her at all. After a while, even Victoria seemed content, since she began shrugging off our jokes with a simple roll of her eyes.

  
  


When we finally pulled into the Blackwell parking lot, we had a problem to solve before we could proceed.

  
  


I yawned and rubbed my own eyes before asking, “So how do we wake up Vic's new pet bunny?”

  
  


Victoria glared at me. “She's not my... pet, Maxine.”

  
  


Rachel snorted at that. “Maybe you should stop stroking her hair then, Chase.”

  
  


Victoria looked down at her hand and very quickly removed it upon realizing she was, indeed, stroking Kate's hair.

  
  


Chloe smirked and suggested, “I could just honk the horn, that'd wake her up.”

  
  


I swatted her on the arm. “Don't you dare, Chloe.” Then I turned back to Kate and gently shook her awake.

  
  


Kate popped an eye open and grumbled at me before closing it again and cuddling further into Victoria's chest, causing her breath to hitch.

  
  


Victoria slowly let out a breath to calm herself, then muttered in Kate's ear, “Kate Beverly Marsh, my boobs are not a pillow!”

  
  


Kate shot awake at that and blinked rapidly, twisting to look at Victoria. Once it dawned on her what she'd done, she blushed heavily. “Crap, I'm so sorry. You were really comfy though... I'm sorry, Victoria.”

  
  


Victoria raised an eyebrow at her. “Uh huh.”

  
  


I smiled at Kate. “Obviously she was comfy, you fell asleep almost instantly.”

  
  


Rachel glanced at Victoria and smirked. “Yeah, and Victoria certainly wasn't complaining, that's for sure.”

  
  


Chloe shifted in her seat to face them and huffed. “Okay, fuck this. You two lovebirds need to stop beating around the bush. We have shit to do.”

  
  


Kate and Victoria's heads whipped around to look at Chloe, where they immediately began falling over their words trying to object.

  
  


I cleared my throat to get their attention. “Normally I wouldn't agree with how Chloe just handled that but honestly, even I am starting to get tired of the awkward mushiness so I'll say it plain – You're both crushing hard right now.” I fixed Victoria with a pointed stare. “We can all see it so don't bother trying to deny it. Both of you just need to accept it and question your feelings later. Like Chloe said, we have shit to do. Now isn't the best time to be second guessing yourselves.”

  
  


Eventually, they both reluctantly nodded with permanent blushes on their faces, purposely avoiding each other's gaze.

  
  


Chloe rolled her eyes at them. “Just fucking kiss already and get it over with.”

  
  


They both glared back at her, refusing to be forced any further. Groaning under my breath, I decided to rewind before smacking my hand over Chloe's mouth to stop her from speaking, and whispered in her ear. “Too far, Chloe. I know what you're trying to do but forcing it won't help. They're aware of their feelings now, anything further has to be their choice, got it?”

  
  


Chloe sighed into my hand and nodded. I took my hand away and turned to everyone else. “Out.”

  
  


That was all the prompting they needed for them to scramble out of the truck, where we all stretched before making our way across campus under the cool night air. Thankfully, we managed to avoid any confrontations with security along the way. Upon entering the dorms, we loitered around the stairwell to reiterate our plans.

  
  


Holding back another yawn, I spoke. “Okay, so... Who's knocking?”

  
  


Victoria huffed. “Me, I suppose. I doubt he'd open the door for anyone else, plus he'll probably want to know why I kicked him out of the Vortex Club, so we can use that to our advantage. If he thinks I'm alone, he'll at-least open the door.”

  
  


I nodded. “Alright then. Once he opens the door, I guess we just bust in and take him by surprise. Lock him down and interrogate him. Sounds... simple enough.”

  
  


Chloe scoffed. “With Jefferson and Nathan, has anything ever been simple? Besides, you'll be lucky if you don't have to rewind me or Rachel killing him before he even says anything.”

  
  


I rolled my eyes at her. “Chloe, for once I expect you to be responsible with that revolver in your pants. The guns are for intimidation purposes only, the one exception is if he makes a move against me, since I can rewind anything he does against you guys - not to sound cold or anything, that's just how it is – but if I get incapacitated you're all in danger.” Then I turned to Rachel. “As for you, I'm sure simply seeing you in the flesh will be enough to make him shit his pants, so please don't set fire to the dorms or anything, I still have to sleep here when this is all over.”

  
  


Chloe rolled her eyes, then nodded at me.

  
  


Rachel sighed. “No promises, Max. Just make sure he doesn't piss me off because then it might happen whether I want it to or not.”

  
  


Satisfied, I turned towards Kate, who was now pacing around the stairwell. “Kate, you doing okay?”

  
  


Kate spun sharply to face me, with fire in her eyes. “Honestly no I'm not. How can you expect me to be doing okay when we're about to be in the same room as someone who drugged three of us? He drugged me, he drugged Rachel, he even tried to do the same to Chloe, remember? I can understand you being calm, Max, since you weren't violated by him. The rest of us were. He's the reason Jefferson got his hands on us in the first place. I don't have a gun, or powers, or Victoria's ice cold stare, but there's no telling what I might do once I come face to face with Nathan. I've never felt like this before, I don't trust myself.”

  
  


I walked over to her and placed both my hands on her shoulders and stared her in the eyes. “Kate, listen to me. I am so far from calm that if I had Rachel's power over the weather, Nathan's room would be a crater right now. Sure, Nathan didn't drug me like the rest of you. He didn't need to, I walked right into Jefferson's hands myself- Anyway, my point is, Nathan shot Chloe. He killed her. Or would have if I hadn't intervened. That alone is enough to make me want to kill him. But since I'm the one with time altering powers, I feel like I've got to be the responsible one of our group. Frankly, right now I'd be perfectly happy to put a bullet in Nathan and Jefferson and walk away. But the consequences of doing that would be disastrous. Either we'd come to regret it afterwards, or we'd be looking over our shoulders forever since we revenge-murdered two people in cold blood. As long as I'm standing, I promise you we will make them pay without killing them, plus we already agreed to get Nathan help if at all possible so there's that to figure out. We just have to be smart about it.”

  
  


Kate blinked, then hugged me and muttered, “Sorry, Max. It's just hard. We're all on edge.”

  
  


I nodded. “I know, Kate. Deep breaths everyone, keep calm but be ready for anything. Either Nathan breaks down and confesses everything, or he goes psycho and tries to shoot us all, so once we get inside we'll need to find where his gun is so that he can't use it against us, then we get down to business.”

  
  


With the planning and pep-talk done, we headed towards the boy's wing of the dorms and navigated our way to Nathan's floor which was luckily empty of students at this time of night. We cautiously walked over to Nathan's door and hid out of sight at both sides with the exception of Victoria who stood in-front of the door so that she was clearly visible. After one final check to see if everyone was ready, I gave Victoria the signal. She took a deep breath before knocking sharply on Nathan's door.

  
  


The ensuing silence felt like torture, though it only lasted a few seconds before we heard movement behind the door. Quickly followed by Nathan muttering from the other side, “Who is it?”

  
  


Victoria apparently slipped on her old mask to hide the anxiety in her voice and replied, “It's me.”

  
  


Nathan huffed from the other side before he opened it just wide enough to peer out at Victoria. “It's about fucking time you showed up. We've been friends forever, what the fuck did I do to piss you off so much?”

  
  


Victoria narrowed her eyes into slits but a split second later, Chloe jumped out from her spot beside the door and booted it as hard as she could before Nathan had a chance to react. The door ended up hitting Nathan in the face, causing him to bounce away and fall backwards onto his bed, with the door swinging wide open after him. We all took this opportunity to rush inside, then shut and lock the door behind us so that he couldn't escape.

  
  


Nathan blinked up from his spot on his bed to see five people standing in his room, with two of them pointing guns at him. All Nathan could squeak out was, “What the fuck?!”

  
  


Victoria glared at him. “What did you do? Where the fuck do I start... Well, I'm sure you remember Chloe here, right?”

  
  


Nathan turned his head to look towards where she was gesturing, and his eyes went wide at seeing Chloe standing over him with a gun in his face.

  
  


Chloe smirked down at him. “Man, if only you had allowed yourself to be blackmailed, none of this would've come to light. But since you didn't, here we are.”

  
  


Nathan frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  
  


Chloe shrugged. “Not important. Where's your gun?”

  
  


Nathan's brows shot up. “How the fuck do you know I have a gun?”

  
  


I snorted from where I was sat on the edge of his couch. “You're going to be asking 'how' a lot, tonight. Now just answer the question, where do you keep your gun?”

  
  


Nathan scoffed. “Maxine? The fuck? Like hell I'm going to tell you.” Then he quickly glanced off towards his dresser.

  
  


Victoria rolled her eyes. “You just did.” Then walked around his bed and searched his dresser drawers until she found it, then she walked back towards us, deciding to keep hold of it herself.

  
  


Now that the gun situation was taken care of, Kate spoke up. “Do you recognize me, Nathan?”

  
  


Nathan's head rolled to look at her, sucking in a breath once he realized who she was. “Of-course I do. You're the bible basher who, uh, sluts around at night.”

  
  


Victoria stepped closer and pointed Nathan's own gun at him. “Don't you even fucking dare lie about that.”

  
  


Kate gently put a hand on Victoria's gun arm and slowly lowered it. “It's okay, Victoria. Let me handle this.” Then she turned back to Nathan and glared so hard he actually flinched. “There's no point lying, Nathan. Not to us. We know what you did.”

  
  


Nathan hummed, unconvinced. “Uh huh. What exactly is it, that I supposedly did?”

  
  


Kate frowned at him. “Oh I'm so glad you asked that question. Why don't you see for yourself?” Then she gestured towards Rachel who had been silently standing in the shadows this whole time.

  
  


Taking the hint, Rachel slowly stepped forward into the dim light of Nathan's room until she was right in-front of him. Then she reached up and pulled down the hood to reveal herself. “Hello, Nathan. It's been a while, hasn't it?”

  
  


Nathan paled as his jaw dropped and his eyes almost popped out of his head in surprise. “What the- But you're-”

  
  


Rachel cut off his shocked rambling with an icy glare. “I'm what, Nathan? You look like you've seen a ghost.”

  
  


Nathan blinked rapidly, struggling to comprehend what he was seeing. “You're... supposed to be dead.”

  
  


Rachel smirked mischievously. “Unfortunately not, I'm afraid. I survived, not that Jefferson had any idea, so he just told you what he thought was the truth. Turns out he was wrong. What a surprise, huh?”

  
  


Nathan began glancing nervously around the room at all of us so I decided to speak up again. “I suggest you try to relax, Nathan. We aren't going to hurt you unless you do anything stupid. We just want to talk, since as you might have now figured out, we know what you and Jefferson get up to in your spare time.”

  
  


Nathan gulped at that. “What is it that you want?”

  
  


I crossed my arms. “Anything and everything you can give us about your extra-curricular activities with Jefferson. What you did, what he did, what you know about his operation, who else is involved, all of it. Also anything that could be classed as evidence, if you have it.”

  
  


Nathan scoffed. “Why should I do that?”

  
  


I glanced towards Victoria and nodded at her.

  
  


She sighed and reluctantly sat on the bed next to him. “You said yourself earlier, we've been friends forever, Nate. I know you better than you even know yourself. Or at-least I thought I did, until I found out all of this. All of us in this room want to make those who hurt us pay. Despite the fact you drugged three of us and... other things, we want to try to get you the help you've deserved all your life but your asshole of a father never gave you. We're going to make sure Jefferson goes down for everything he's done and we want you to help us. After all, I'm fairly sure deep down you regret helping him, regret what you did. You can say you don't but I know when you're lying to yourself. Help us free you from his clutches. All you need to do is tell us what you know and we will make sure you get the help that you need, instead of being locked up alongside Jefferson. Come on, Nate, I don't want to see my best friend go down because of that bastard. He lied and tricked all of us, you included. We can make him pay. Please do the right thing.”

  
  


Nathan's mouth began opening and closing as he clearly fought inside his head to come to a decision. Eventually, he muttered a defeated, “I'm sorry, I can't.”

  
  


I shook my head at him. “Is it because of your father? We already know he's involved in the Dark Room... somehow. We just don't know how far it goes.”

  
  


Nathan swallowed audibly and nodded. “A lot further than you think.”

  
  


Victoria inhaled sharply. “Sean can go fuck himself, Nate. You've been under his thumb for too long, and all he did was make you miserable and from what we can guess, he's the reason you got involved with Jefferson in the first place. You've told me countless times how much you hate your father and wished you could get away from him. This is your chance, Nate. Your one and only shot. Take it while you still can.”

  
  


Nathan violently shook his head, presumably to clear it, then took several deep breaths. “The only way I can get away from my father is if whatever you do can take him down as-well as Jefferson. I know things, a lot of things, sure... but everyone knows how untouchable our family is, especially my father. I don't know if it'd be enough.”

  
  


Chloe huffed. “Well obviously the APBD isn't an option, they won't do shit if Sean Prescott is involved. There's only one person I know who's strong enough to go toe-to-toe with him and possibly win...”

  
  


Rachel groaned at that. “I really hate that we're thinking the same thing, Chloe. My... dad, right?”

  
  


Chloe nodded. “I hate his guts and I know you do too. He didn't do shit to find you when you were 'missing' either, he just assumed you'd ran off or something. But despite all the shit he's done to hurt you, he's always claimed to do it because he loves you. That's debatable, but if it's true... well, I get the feeling he'll hit Sean with everything he's got if we tell him what really happened to you. He already hates him as it is, so this would likely make him go on the war-path.”

  
  


Rachel rubbed her face in frustration. “As much as don't want to see his fucking face again, I have to agree. My dad is the only one who stands a chance at beating Sean's ass in court. He can weasel his way out of anything but when he goes up against my dad he has to fight tooth-and-nail to scrape his way out.”

  
  


Nathan shrugged. “I've heard him ranting about your dad a few times so you're not wrong about that.” Then he closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. “Okay, fine. If your dad can take down my father, I'll help. How is this going to work, exactly?”

  
  


I hummed in thought. “Well, full disclosure, we didn't really plan for anything fancy for this part so I suppose you can just tell us everything and we'll take notes to pass on to Rachel's father?”

  
  


Nathan sighed. “Sure, whatever. Where do you want me to start?”

  
  


I hummed in thought. “From the beginning, I guess? How you met Jefferson, and just go from there. You talk and we'll listen.”

  
  


Victoria fished around in her bag and pulled out her phone so that she could take notes while the rest of us settled in for the ride.

  
  


Nathan nodded, then took a deep breath before starting. “I met Jefferson shortly after he started working at Blackwell. My father had mentioned him a few times before then, but only after did he force an introduction between me and Jefferson, where he pushed for him to teach me what he knew about photography.”

  
  


He scoffed. “If only I knew what he really meant by photography... Anyway, the first couple of 'sessions' with Jefferson seemed normal, just student-teacher boring shit except outside the classroom. Then he started showing me his darker photographic collections of seemingly non-consenting, bound and gagged, posed models and passing them off as works of art. I'd seen similar photos of his posted on the boards on campus so it didn't give me as much of a red flag as it should've done, honestly. After that, he introduced me to the Dark Room, which again, beyond the slightly creepy underground bunker vibe, it seemed like any old photography studio. Beyond that everything's kind of a blur. All I remember is that one day he called me out to the Dark Room and when I got there, he was posing an unconscious 'model' on the floor who was clearly a Blackwell student, I think her name was Kelly. He tried to tell me it was okay and that she'd agreed to it but when I attempted to leave he stopped me and said if I didn't help him, he'd inform my father how much of a failure I was, that sort of thing. Victoria knows how much I fear my father, so I felt like I was stuck. Each time I tried to pull myself out, he threatened to tell my father then dragged me even deeper into his sick delusions, to the point where the stress of it all hit me so much that I stopped taking my medication, not that they helped much anyway. After that I suppose I became conditioned to his shit very easily and ended up following him around like a lost puppy.”

  
  


He sighed. “Some time after that is when he told me about his plan to grab Rachel, and that I was to be the one drugging her. As much as I tried to argue against it, I was too far gone at this point and ended up going along with it, despite a part deep inside of me screaming not to hurt someone who was meant to be a friend. Well, I got used to Rachel's presence in the Dark Room sickeningly fast and those three or so months she was held down there seemed to fly by. Then before I know it, Jefferson wants to do a random photo-shoot with Rachel out in the abandoned Junkyard. Weird considering she'd never left the Dark Room before but sure, why not? When we got there, he made me pose with her for a few shots before sending me back to the Dark Room to develop them. The next day she wasn't in the Dark Room so I asked Jefferson where she was, to which he casually replied that he 'had to get rid of her because we'd kept her for too long, he was getting bored and needed someone new'.

  
  


He shook his head and stared down at his hands. “So he hunted around for a while before settling on you, Kate. Again, he made me be the one to drug you and take you to the Dark Room. He seemed very... happy, ugh, after his 'session' with you but he said something about how your pure innocence was too easily corrupted from just that one 'session' and he couldn't keep you for longer. He told me to dump you on a bench in the middle of town but after what happened to Rachel, I'd begun secretly rebelling in any way I could so I managed to get you back into Blackwell and left you in the girl's dorm where you'd be safe. There, that's pretty much start to finish with me and Jefferson.”

  
  


He looked up again and glared at the wall. “Now as for my father's involvement... from what I could piece together, my father and Jefferson both went to the same school here in Arcadia Bay when they were kids and I guess they became friends which would explain a lot considering it was my father who pushed for Jefferson to even teach at Blackwell. Anyway, my father was the one who funded and built the Dark Room, converting it from the old bomb shelter it was before, though I only found this out after Jefferson had shown me it. As it turns out, Jefferson actually did tell my father about my 'disobedience' at one point, and he practically ripped me a new asshole over it. That's where he ended up telling me that this 'side-project' actually meant a lot to our family 'legacy' and that I needed to behave so as to not fail the Prescott name.”

  
  


He balled his hands into fists. “That's when I started snooping around my father's office when he was gone, and found some email print-outs of him talking with several people, who I can only assume are shady fuckers, about his efforts with the Dark Room 'project'. I'm not completely sure on this but if I had to guess, I think there's some kind of black market ring that buys Dark Room photographs from my father. It's all just a sick source of money to him. He's the brains of this whole thing, he uses Jefferson to take the photos, Jefferson uses me to grab the 'models', and my father sells everything to the highest bidding clients. Sadly I couldn't take any of these papers without him finding out, but he most likely still has them in his office since he keeps records of everything 'just in-case'. Hopefully that'll be his fucking downfall. I'm afraid that's all I know, sorry guys.”

  
  


I blinked a few times and muttered, “Fucking hell.”

  
  


Chloe huffed. “I'll second that.”

  
  


Victoria was still too busy furiously tapping away on her phone noting everything down to speak.

  
  


Rachel was staring blankly into a corner of the room.

  
  


Kate looked nauseous. “Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse... Are you seriously telling me that the photos Jefferson took of me are now in the hands of fuck knows how many perverts?”

  
  


When Nathan reluctantly nodded, Kate promptly launched herself towards the trash can in the corner of the room, barely reaching it in time before vomiting into it, causing Nathan to wince and mutter under his breath, “Well I suppose that's the least I deserve.”

  
  


The sound of Kate being sick was enough to make Victoria stop typing on her phone and look up, then she rushed over to help Kate once she realized what was happening.

  
  


I noticed Chloe was glancing between Rachel and Nathan, glaring at the latter each time. She clearly wanted to help Rachel but was stuck being the guard, so I got her attention and mouthed 'behave' before heading over to check on Rachel for her.

  
  


When I stepped up next to Rachel, I saw that she was now glaring daggers into a random spot on the wall, to the point that I was pretty sure I could see smoke starting to come from it. Careful not to startle her since I didn't know just how wild her powers were, I muttered softly, “Rachel, I told you not to set the dorms on fire so please talk to me before you set off the fire alarm.”

  
  


Rachel blinked a few times while my words sunk in, then she turned her head to look at me. I swear I could feel a spike of heat on the part of my face she was looking at but I decided to ignore it and just hoped she didn't accidentally set me on fire instead. She whispered so quietly I could barely hear what she was saying, “I was in the Dark Room for over three months, Max. Do you have any idea how many photographs Jefferson took? Hundreds. I lost count pretty fast since I was drugged most of the time but it's definitely in the hundreds.” She glanced at Kate still vomiting heavily in the corner. “I don't want this to sound cold, but Kate was in the Dark Room for one 'session', just a few hours. Same for you, Max. Victoria too, though I don't know if she had any photos taken of her in the old timeline before you started jumping around. My point is, if what Nathan said is true, there are hundreds... fucking hundreds... of photos of me in the hands of whoever the hell is part of this black market ring. I don't know how I'm supposed to comprehend that. I figured it was just Nathan and Jefferson, maybe Sean Prescott too. Easily contained to three people who we're going to take down. We can't take down an entire black market ring of people probably all over the world, though. This is going to be following me around for the rest of my life. I swear, if Jefferson and Sean get sent to prison, it's only fair that I give them horrible visions and dreams every day for the rest of their lives while they rot in there. If I can't forget them, they won't be able to forget me, either. I'll be the ghost in the back of their heads.”

  
  


I smiled sadly at her before pulling her in for a hug and muttering in her ear, “If that's how you want to handle it, I won't stop you. Fuck knows they deserve it. But Rachel, even if this does follow you forever, I want you to know that me and Chloe won't be going anywhere. We'll have your back, I mean it.”

  
  


Rachel pulled back to see if I was lying. I wasn't. Once she realized I was being serious, a single tear escaped down her cheek which she ignored. Rachel and Victoria were similar in a lot of ways, mainly their use of masks to cover their emotions and insecurities. Well, this was Rachel without hers. She grinned and pulled me in for a hug instead before saying, “I guess Chloe was right, huh? We'll all be Hella Best Friends forever.”

  
  


I giggled. “Duh. Chloe's never wrong. Ever. At all. After-all, the Price is always right.”

  
  


Rachel groaned. “Ugh, don't I know it.” Then she realized the pun and snorted. “Did you seriously just use one of William's dad-jokes? Damn you and Chloe really are like the same person, she used that one on me all the fucking time.”

  
  


I shrugged. “We're bonded for life, unfortunately.”

  
  


Rachel raised an eyebrow at that. “Unfortunately, huh? Are you sure about that?”

  
  


I mock-frowned at the smirk on her face to hide the blush. “Sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about.”

  
  


Rachel crossed her arms. “Just like Kate and Victoria are obvious, so are you and Chloe. You may not show it like they do but it's still obvious. Besides, I'm the all-seeing eye, remember? I seem to recall something about a dare in the old timeline, ring any bells?”

  
  


That time I really did blush. “Oh god please tell me you didn't see that.”

  
  


Rachel grinned mischievously. “Of-course I saw it. I also saw how many times you rewound to do it all over again. Honestly, I wasn't sure if I was supposed to feel turned on, flattered, or grossed out, considering you were doing it while wearing my clothes. Which by the way, you really do look damn good in, Max.”

  
  


I groaned and covered my face with my hands before muttering under my breath, “Fuuuuuuck me.”

  
  


Rachel snorted. “Sorry, I think Chloe's claimed that one.”

  
  


Her unexpected counter caused me to drop my hands in surprise, revealing my beet-red face which only made her grin more. I growled at her in slight frustration, and replied, “You're damn right she has.” before I huffed and started stomping off back towards Chloe.

  
  


Rachel grabbed my arm before I managed to take more than a couple of steps. “Hey now, wait a second. I'm not stupid, I heard that thinly-veiled threat so let's get this out in the open. Obviously, I meant a lot to Chloe. She meant a lot to me. She still does. But Max, I want you to understand something. The whole time I was friends with her, and indeed more than friends, not once did she stop talking about you. I may have been her angel, to use her own words, but Max... you were her soulmate. I know I tease a lot but I'll never stand in the way of that. I may be a Leo, but these claws aren't meant for you so I'd appreciate it if you put yours away too.” Then she started making cat noises and giggled.

  
  


I smiled at her. “Um... Sorry. And thanks, Rachel.”

  
  


As I began walking back towards Chloe again, I could hear Rachel still making cat noises and laughing to herself, to which I just shook my head in amusement.

  
  


When I collapsed back down onto Nathan's couch, Chloe noticed how red my face was and looked over towards Rachel who was still chuckling. She groaned and asked, “What did she do, Max? Do I have to cut a bitch?”

  
  


I contemplated saying yes for a brief second to get my own back but decided against it. Bad kitty, no jealousy allowed. Instead I shook my head at her. “Nah. She's such a fucking tease. I wasn't expecting it to be that much, it just caught me by surprise, that's all. I liked it, though. It was... different. Something new. I'll just have to get used to it, I suppose.”

  
  


Chloe shrugged. “If you say so. Now, what did she say?”

  
  


I smirked at her. “If I tell you, there's a 50/50 chance you either cut her or cut me, so I'm just going to say... No comment.”

  
  


Chloe huffed. “Fine. I'll find out eventually.”

  
  


I rolled my eyes. “I have no doubt you will.”

  
  


At this point, Kate had recovered from her vomiting in the corner and had calmed down significantly with the help of Victoria, which was no surprise to anyone except Nathan, who had been watching with extreme confusion.

  
  


Now that we knew the extent of the Dark Room's secrets, there wasn't much else keeping us in Nathan's room, and I didn't really want to stay any longer than necessary so decided to wrap things up. I cleared my throat to get his attention and said, “Thank you for helping us, Nathan. Seriously. I know you're not a bad person, not really. Everyone just used you to do their dirty work. When this is all over, I sincerely hope you get the help you need and get better.”

  
  


Nathan nodded at me. “Thanks. This is probably a stupid question but I don't suppose I could have my gun back?”

  
  


Chloe scoffed and immediately replied with, “Fuck no, dude.”

  
  


Ignoring her, I shook my head at Nathan. “What she said, but nicer. Sorry, we might need it for taking down Jefferson. You know, just in-case. Speaking of which, I imagine at this point it goes without saying but... don't go blabbing to Jefferson about any of this. Just act like everything is normal, or as normal as can be considering it's Jefferson.”

  
  


Nathan gulped and glanced in Victoria's direction for a split-second. “What do I do if he asks me to grab someone else before you can take him down?”

  
  


I saw him glance at Victoria and it made me remember that she was meant to be next in the old timeline, and presumably this one too. I groaned. “Vic's next, isn't she?”

  
  


Victoria froze at that and flinched when Nathan nodded, purposely not looking at her. “Apparently, yeah. He's also got his eye on you, Max. So just... be careful.”

  
  


I shuddered at the thought before muttering, “Believe me, I'm well aware.” and ignoring the confusion on his face.

  
  


Victoria coughed. “Nate... If he did ask you to, would you have done it... to me? I need to know.”

  
  


Nathan finally looked up at her and made eye contact. He exhaled slowly before saying, “Now? No way. If you guys hadn't shown up tonight though... I honestly can't say. I don't know. You have no idea how much it hurts to think there's even a chance I could've done it, but I can't just say no, as much as I want to. I mean, Rachel was supposed to be my friend but I still did it to her, and I even stood by while she was locked away for over three months. So I just can't say if I would've gone through with it or not. I'm sorry, Vic.”

  
  


Victoria wordlessly nodded before standing up and heading over to the door. She stopped before she could open it, sighed and turned around. “Look, Nate. I can't forgive you for what you did, or might've done. Not yet, at-least. But I need you to know that you haven't lost me. Not completely. I'm still your friend... your best friend... but you will have to find your way back to me, do you understand? Whether we take down Jefferson and your father or not, you need to seriously commit to getting better. Once that happens, I will be waiting for you. Until then, please keep your distance. I'll text you in the morning to talk more about the Vortex Club stuff since we didn't get the chance here. Goodnight, Nate.”

  
  


With that said, she spun back around and opened the door before heading out into the hallway. The rest of us followed along, with the last one out being Rachel, who stopped in the doorway to put her hood back up and muttered over her shoulder, “Friends don't hurt friends, Nathan. You hurt me. For three months, you hurt me. Victoria might forgive you, but I cannot. Ever. If those guys weren't here I would've ripped you to pieces for what you did, I want you to know that. I do hope you get better, but our friendship is over. Unless it's to discuss what we talked about tonight, don't talk to me again. Don't even look in my direction. Also it goes without saying, don't tell anyone I was here, otherwise you'll regret it. I was violated hundreds of times because of you and that's unforgivable. This is goodbye, Nathan.” Then she slammed the door behind her and followed the rest of us down the hallway.

  
  


We regrouped back in the safety of the dorm stairwell to figure out what to do next. Clearly we were all tired but there was no way any of us would be getting much sleep after what we'd learned.

  
  


I yawned. “Chloe, I just realized, it was around this time when you tried to imitate a 'scary punk ghost', I believe. What do you say we break into the Principal's office again? The stuff in there isn't as important as it seemed last time, now we know the truth, but it's still good to hold all the cards, so to speak, just in-case. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it, right?”

  
  


Chloe grinned. “That's probably the most wise-ass thing I've ever heard you say, Max.”

  
  


I rolled my eyes at her. “Eat me.”

  
  


Chloe scoffed. “I think that's supposed to be my line.”

  
  


I stuck my tongue out at her. “Not this time.”

  
  


Victoria cleared her throat. “Moving on... You want to break into the Principal's office? Seriously?”

  
  


I shrugged. “Can't be worse than standing in the dorm room of someone who could go psycho at any moment, surely.”

  
  


Kate snorted. “She's got a point there. Normally I wouldn't agree, but none of this is normal, is it? I'm in.”

  
  


Rachel grinned. “I'm in too, so long as I can steal that drunkard's whiskey stash.”

  
  


I rolled my eyes at that before turning to Victoria who huffed but reluctantly nodded.

  
  


With our next course plotted, we made our way out of the dorms and headed in the direction of the main building.


	13. The Blackwell Ninjas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Time Warriors run into something unexpected on their midnight walk.
> 
> The group break into the Principal's Office to gather anything that might count as useful evidence.
> 
> Afterwards, they decide to push their luck by going splish splash in the pool so that they can relax and have some fun.
> 
> However it's not that simple when a problem arises and personal limits are tested, ultimately leading to the final showdown between Otters vs Sharks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the slight delay (again), this time I got distracted with writing out the beginnings of a new Fic idea which if all goes well, will be the one I work on after finishing Pricefield - Time Warriors. I won't go into details because I don't have much written or planned out yet so you'll just have to wait and see what comes out of it. :P
> 
> This chapter is one of the moments many readers look forward to when it comes to rewriting the game's events. That's right, it's time for the pool! As usual, I just roll with the plot ideas when they pop into my head, though I always planned on including a trip to the pool. I just didn't know what would happen during it until I reached the point of writing it out and realizing there was a little something in a previous chapter that needed addressing, which set the ball rolling into this unplanned pile of fluffy character development. Let me know if you like it!
> 
> Enjoy! :)

**Pricefield - Time Warriors**

  


**Chapter 13: The Blackwell Ninjas**

  


Despite there being five of us, it was surprisingly easy to sneak past the security guards roaming the grounds. Well, they've always been notoriously bad at their job, with the exception of David himself who seems able to overshadow their combined incompetence with his hard-on for taking his position of Head of Security way too seriously. Luckily for us, we knew from the previous timeline that he was somewhere on the opposite side of campus and so after getting past a drunken Principal Wells unnoticed, we pretty much had the main campus to ourselves.

  


As the five of us crept towards the front entrance, laughing and joking with each other the whole way, Chloe suddenly groaned and turned towards me. “I just realized that I don't have David's keys. I never swiped them since I didn't think we'd be breaking into Blackwell a second time. How do we get in?”

  


I simply rolled my eyes at her. “Oh no, I guess you can't use your 'they can't charge us for just entering' excuse without the keys, huh? Who even needs the keys when you can rewind time? Just break in and I'll rewind once we get the doors open.”

  


Victoria piped up. “You're surprisingly calm about breaking and entering, Maxine.”

  


Rachel rushed on ahead up to the front doors and whisper-shouted over her shoulder. “Spend enough time with Chloe and you'll find yourself perfectly okay with doing all sorts of crazy shit, Victoria.”

  


I missed her reply because all of a sudden the hairs on the back of my neck began to stand up. I had an intense feeling that something was wrong. I quickly glanced around the main campus, which was empty except for us. That's when it hit me; In the previous timeline, it wasn't empty – Victoria and Jefferson made an unexpected appearance – Except Victoria is with us this time, so where's Jefferson? I turned to look at the windows of the photography room and saw that the lights were out. Then the penny dropped. I could've sworn they were on a moment ago, and my gut was screaming at me that I even saw them turn off in my peripheral vision while screwing around with everyone else but I was too distracted to really notice it at the time. If true, that could only mean one thing.

  


I looked over towards Rachel, who was now standing close to the front entrance. I struggled to keep my anxiety from spiking as I half panicked, half hissed towards her, “Rachel, get away from the doors. Now!”

  


She looked at me with confusion on her face, before turning back to look at the entrance to see what I was worrying about, right as the doors opened. I saw the confusion on Rachel's face turn to surprise, then instantly switch to fear upon realizing she was now face to face with Jefferson.

  


Jefferson was equally surprised at seeing Rachel, though, and it was enough to stop him in his tracks. He recovered first from his momentarily stunned state and spoke in a surprisingly high-pitched tone, “Rachel? What the- I killed you!”

  


The others, who were slightly further away, had only now spotted what was happening after hearing his voice. Jefferson hadn't noticed me, or the others, yet. He could only see Rachel from where he was standing right in-front of her. I watched as he frowned before reaching out to grab Rachel's arm and when I realized she was still completely frozen on the spot and couldn't pull away, it was enough to kick me out of my own stunned state and come to the conclusion that I'd have to take one for the team. Not this time you piece of shit.

  


I reached around to grab the gun shoddily tucked down the back of my jeans and drew it before stepping out from behind the tree that was hiding me from view. I pointed it in their direction and shouted, “Rachel! Duck!”

  


The sound of my voice was enough to snap her out of her daze long enough to do what I said. Meanwhile Jefferson whipped his head around in my direction and only had a split-second to register the fact I had him at gunpoint, when I fired twice to ensure I didn't miss with the first shot.

  


Surprisingly, neither of them missed the intended target, and I watched on as Jefferson staggered back away from Rachel in agony. Rachel scrambled away from him and practically threw herself into my non-gun arm, just as everyone else caught up to us and saw what'd happened. We were all silent, with the exception of Rachel whimpering into my shoulder, as the rest of us watched Jefferson collapse against the wall and sink to the ground. I only then noticed that I was still aiming at him, when Chloe cautiously stepped into my vision and put her hand on my arm, slowly lowering it.

  


I blinked. Then realized I was shaking and muttered out a single barely-audible, “Fuck.”

  


Rachel mumbled into my shoulder, “You can say that again. Shit, Max, thank you. So much. I thought I could handle seeing him again but I just... froze. I couldn't.”

  


I wrapped my arm tighter around her. “It's okay, Rachel. You're okay. I told you, I'll always have your back, and I meant it. I wasn't going to let him touch you again.”

  


Chloe cleared her throat. “Max, are YOU okay? You just shot someone. I know it's Jefferson and he deserves much worse but come on, we both know you're not like me. Answer me, Max.”

  


I blinked again, and looked up at her. I could only shake my head once before I got hit by an overwhelming urge to vomit and pushed my way past her to be sick in one of the bushes.

  


Once my entire stomach contents had been emptied, I made my way back to them and groaned. “I really can't believe I just did that. It's like I completely forgot my rewind existed, in the moment that's all I could think to do.”

  


Victoria snorted. “Well if you hadn't done it, I probably would have.”

  


I looked over at her to see she was clutching Nathan's pistol in her hand. I didn't quite know what to say to that.

  


Apparently Rachel beat me to it, and cracked a smile before whispering, “So that's how you plan on finally making up for attempting to drug my tea during the Tempest performance? By shooting Jefferson?”

  


Victoria shrugged. “Something like that.”

  


Kate suddenly spoke up. “I'm going to assume we're rewinding all of this, right?”

  


I nodded weakly at her. “Of-course. Just another fuck up that I'll have to bury and forget it ever happened.” I shuddered, and muttered the last bit to myself, “Just like all the times I saw Chloe die...”

  


Apparently it was still loud enough for Chloe to hear, as she immediately enveloped me in a hug and whispered into my ear, “I'm here because of you, Max. Never forget that either. And if you ever need a reminder...” She shifted slightly and before I could register what was happening, she kissed me on the forehead. “Just think of that.”

  


I looked up into her eyes and was overcome with the desire to kiss her back. Before I got the chance, though, Rachel sighed. “As cute as this is, now isn't the time guys. I'm pretty sure security has finally gotten off their asses long enough to come check out the gunshots.”

  


I whined internally. “Fine. Everyone gather round, hold hands. You all know how it works by now, except for Rachel, I guess. Just, uh... brace yourself for some trippy shit.”

  


She nodded, then grabbed hold of me, while everyone else did the same to form a circle of joined hands. I kicked in my powers right as David came thundering around the corner from the parking lot all by himself with his gun drawn. How typical, his security guards are a bunch of cowards and probably fled at the sound of the first gunshot, leaving him to investigate on his own.

  


I switched from freeze to rewind and smirked at the shocked gasp from Rachel next to me upon seeing David reversing back the way he came. She was struggling to take it all in, though I heard her inhale sharply once we rewound past the point where I shot Jefferson, leaving him standing in-front of the ghost of Rachel's past self. I felt her squeeze my hand tighter, so I pushed the rewind harder so that we could get past it all as quick as possible. It didn't take long for him to reverse back inside the school and once the photography room lights switched back on, I let go on the rewind.

  


As soon as I did, I watched Rachel throw up in her mouth and force it back down. I patted her on the arm slightly, before rushing behind one of the big photo boards and motioning for everyone else to do the same. Then we waited. The lights went back out, shortly followed by the sound of the front doors opening and Jefferson's footsteps heading off in the direction of the parking lot.

  


Rachel took a peek around the board and whispered back to me, “Can I set his hair on fire or something to cheer you up after what just happened?”

  


Chloe replied before I could with a very stern, “No, Rachel. As funny as it might be, I think burning him alive will give her even worse nightmares.”

  


She pulled her head back and glanced at me. “Crap, right... Sorry. I just hope whatever is in the Principal's office is worth all that.”

  


Chloe scoffed. “You bet your ass it is.”

  


I caught the impish look on her face and internally groaned. I knew exactly what she was planning. This was definitely going to be an... interesting night.”

  


Once Jefferson had vanished, we all made our way over to the entrance.

  


I hummed. “So, who wants to be the one to break in?”

  


What happened next made me question if we were inside one of those stupid comedy shows, because Chloe looked at Rachel, who then looked at Victoria, and she looked at Kate. Realizing she'd been singled out, she threw her hands into the air and huffed, “Okay fine, I'll do it.” Then she turned to look at Victoria and narrowed her eyes. “But you're going to be my accomplice. Go find me a rock.”

  


Victoria frowned for a second but ultimately did as she was told and wandered off to find a rock big enough to smash through the door windows.

  


Rachel burst out laughing once she was out of earshot. “I love it, I fucking love it. Kate, you're amazing. Victoria is so head-over-heels for you that I don't even think she understands just how much. Back when I went to Blackwell with her, she would never, ever, be caught dead acting like someone else's minion. I hope you're aware of just how much of an effect you're having on her.”

  


Kate blushed unashamedly and grinned back at Rachel. “I'm perfectly aware, thank you.”

  


Eventually, Victoria came back grumbling to herself, but nevertheless was holding a suitable-enough rock to use. Kate took it from her and aimed it at one of the door windows. Once I gave her a thumbs up, she threw it as hard as she could. Kate may be small, but let me tell you, I never want to make Kate angry and risk having something launched at my head in the way she threw that rock. It smashed straight through on the first try.

  


Kate simply stood there, smirking, while Chloe carefully reached through the hole and unlocked the doors, before pulling her hand back out and yanking the door open. Once we were all inside, we joined hands again to rewind the damage, then unlocked the door normally and headed inside the receptionist area connected to the Principal's office. I was tempted to have them hunt down ingredients for a bomb like last time but decided on doing the simple thing and kicking the door down instead. With five people repeatedly booting the door, it was no match for us and busted open pretty quickly. We rushed inside and rewound the damage again, then set to work snooping for anything we might need as evidence.

  


Kate found her file and swore out loud after reading it. “I used to think Wells was okay, sure he came to school drunk a lot, but other than that I always liked him. But it turns out he just stood by and watched while I struggled with my depression getting worse, despite the school nurse telling him to keep an eye on me. Fuck him.”

  


At this point, Rachel had finally found Wells' whiskey stash, pulled out the bottle and snorted. “You're probably the only one who didn't think he was completely incompetent and unfit to be the Principal. I mean, fuck... I was his administrative assistant when I was a Sophomore here. The amount of times I had to deal with him drinking in-front of me, never-mind him constantly smelling like booze... Ugh, I can still smell it even now. No way I'm not stealing this bottle, it's the least that drunk jackass owes me.”

  


Chloe got an excited look in her eyes. “If we're stealing shit, does that mean I can finally take the chair?”

  


I rolled my eyes at her. “It's too big, Chloe. You'd never get it out the door. Besides, there's still cash in that drawer, right?”

  


She sighed before reaching over to open the drawer and pulling out the supposed 'handicapped fund'. “We don't need to pay Frank off this time, so what do we do with it?”

  


Victoria opened her mouth to reply once she saw what was written on the envelope but I cut her off. “Relax, Vic. In the other timeline, after we took the money he put up a notice saying the handicapped upgrades were delayed so we're not going to be using it this time but we will take it as evidence. For all we know it's the Prescott's paying him to turn a blind-eye to Nathan. I'm not sure I want dirty money being used to upgrade Blackwell, in that case.”

  


She huffed, but nodded and turned back to look at other things.

  


Chloe pocketed the envelope, then searched through the computer for everything we knew was hidden on it. We printed Nathan's expunged record, emails with Sean Prescott, a few other bits and pieces, and then we got to Nathan's 'Rachel in the Dark Room' drawing. Once it was printed, she saw what was on it and we had to physically stop her from ripping it up in disgust. Thankfully, it survived Rachel's wrath intact and was kept as evidence alongside everything else we'd printed out.

  


With everything safely secured in my bag, we quickly left the building before security caught us.

  


When we were back outside, Rachel asked, “So, what do we do now?”

  


Chloe caught my eye and smirked. “I think we could all do with a relaxing swim after what we just went through. Splish splash, anyone?”

  


I rolled my eyes and sighed. “I saw that coming a mile away. Fine, if you insist, Chloe.”

  


Rachel's eyes lit up. “Oh hella yes!”

  


Kate simply shrugged. “Well, I've come this far so why stop now?”

  


Victoria grumbled but ultimately agreed to it, presumably because Kate did. She's always the most reluctant to do anything, but if Kate agrees then she doesn't have a choice, apparently.

  


We cautiously made our way towards the pool building. After another expertly thrown rock from Kate and a quick rewind later, we were inside. Chloe turned to face the group and just like last time, asked, “Boys or Girls?”

  


I rolled my eyes upon noticing she was directing it specifically at Kate and Victoria, who both immediately picked the Girls changing room. I think Kate picked up on what she was insinuating, but Victoria certainly didn't. After heading through the Girls changing room, we were all soon standing on the edge of the pool.

  


Chloe turned to me and upon seeing the mischievous glint in her eye, I braced myself for something I wouldn't like. “So, does anyone want to go skinny dipping?”

  


I almost choked on my own breath as it got caught in my throat. When I'd recovered, I immediately shot back with, “Is this your way of asking to see me naked, Chloe?”

  


Rachel barked a laugh at that.

  


Chloe stumbled over her words slightly before settling on, “Don't be silly, Max. I suggested it because at-least one person here doesn't have a choice... Unless Victoria somehow found the time to put on a bra since this morning.”

  


Victoria swore under her breath.

  


Kate heard it and giggled. “I'll take that as a no, huh Victoria?”

  


Victoria growled. “Oh shush, I had more important things to worry about than putting on a god damn bra when we got back to Blackwell this morning, okay?”

  


I snorted. “Sure, Vic. However that leaves you in quite the predicament, doesn't it? How are you going to swim without a bra?”

  


She huffed. “Well, I suppose... I'll just sit this out while you guys have fun.”

  


I heard Kate groan under her breath, and looked over just in time to see her fighting with herself. Whatever it was, she took a deep breath before holding it for several seconds, then she leaned in and whispered something into Victoria's ear.

  


I watched as Victoria's face immediately turned red, and she stammered out an incredulous, “Really? Are you serious?”

  


Kate nodded ever so slightly, before turning to Chloe and muttering, “If she does it, so will I. Um... bra's only though, I'd say that's fair enough, right?”

  


Rachel shrugged, clearly not bothered at all. “Fine by me, Kate.” Then she turned to me and Chloe and grinned. “What about you two, you in?”

  


I don't know where it came from, but I felt my courage turn to steel all of a sudden and desperately wanted to get my own back on Chloe. So I turned to her and said, “If Chloe wants to see me naked so badly, it's only right that her plan should backfire on her.” Then I shot Chloe a wink that damn-near melted her heart's punk exterior.

  


Chloe shuffled uncomfortably, but didn't say anything.

  


I rolled my eyes. “Relax, Chloe. This is no different than when we had sleepovers as kids. We're here to have some fun, just like last time, right? Only change is that there's five of us.”

  


When she still didn't reply, I crossed my arms and mock-frowned at her. “Chloe Elizabeth Price, don't make me dare you, because you know I will if I have to.”

  


That got her attention. She blinked, then audibly swallowed. “Fuck. I should've seen that coming, you're not the same wallflower you was when we first met back up in the old timeline. Fine, Max. You win.”

  


Victoria scoffed. “That's what you get for putting me on the spot, Price.”

  


Chloe huffed, but didn't respond.

  


Rachel cleared her throat. “So, we doing this or what? Come on, girls. Strip. Last one in the pool is buying tomorrow's breakfast!”

  


That was all it took to get past the awkwardness and undress. Me and Kate were the last ones not in the pool, and since I had paid last time, Kate kindly waited for me to jump in first so that she could pay for tomorrow instead.

  


Once we were all in the pool, the insanity began immediately, with Rachel splashing water at me and Chloe, while Kate and Victoria dived underwater, pulling us down with them when we were distracted splashing back at Rachel. Chloe recovered first and retaliated by popping up behind Rachel and dunking her head underwater. Things only got worse from there. The final battle between Otters and Sharks had begun. Me and Kate joined forces as the Otters, while Victoria and Chloe were the Sharks. Rachel, staying true to her uncanny ability of befriending everyone, joined both sides and switched whenever the other team had the upper hand. So far, the battle had been a draw, mostly thanks to Rachel.

  


So when we all agreed to take a quick break to catch our breath, I decided to propose a plan to Kate, “We won't win this with Rachel on their team unless we play dirty and do something they wouldn't expect from people who aren't as daring as them.”

  


Kate raised an eyebrow at me. “I'm listening.”

  


I grinned deviously. “Wait for them to come at us, let them fire the first shot. Then we'll both dive under and, uh... de-pants them. While they're busy trying to recover from our sneak attack, we can safely beat Rachel into submission.”

  


Kate hummed. “You know what? Fuck it. Let's do it. I assume I'm taking Victoria and you'll deal with Chloe?”

  


I winked. “I wouldn't have it any other way.”

  


We heard Rachel calling from the other side of the pool that the break was over.

  


As we swam to meet them in the middle, Kate turned to me and smirked. “Today the Otters become the Sharks.”

  


I giggled. “Damn right. Remember, they need to think they have the upper hand. Wait for my signal before diving.”

  


She nodded in reply.

  


Once we were back in the middle of the pool, the battle commenced. Victoria and Chloe immediately came at us with water splashes while Rachel hung back to observe. We dodged the water but stayed where we were. They took the bait easily and swam towards us. I caught Kate's eye and shouted, “Now!”

  


We both dived, making sure to kick up splashes at them as we went. The sudden move surprised them enough to give us the time needed to position ourselves beneath them. When we were ready, we both reached up and grabbed hold of Victoria and Chloe's underwear before pulling them down as far as we could. Then we surfaced behind them and advanced on Rachel while they were struggling to pull their underwear back up. We easily dodged the splashes Rachel sent at us, and when she dived to go on the offensive, we countered by diving ourselves, intent on meeting her head-on. Rachel realized her mistake too late; she couldn't swim away fast enough before we both managed to grab her legs and pull her back. She tried to fight us off but soon figured out that she couldn't take us both on underwater, so after one last attempt to escape was foiled by me practically strapping myself to her back and wrapping my arms around her neck like a backpack containing an anchor, holding her firmly in place, she tapped on my hand to signal her surrender.

  


Once we had all surfaced and caught our breath, Rachel exclaimed, “What the ever-loving fuck just happened?”

  


I grinned at her. “I think it's safe to say we hella beat you Sharks at your own game.”

  


At this point Victoria and Chloe had recovered and swam over.

  


And promptly dunked both of us underwater in retaliation.

  


When we surfaced and our coughing fits had ended, Chloe spoke up. “I can't believe you guys did that. I can't decide if I should feel proud or violated.”

  


I shrugged and smirked at her before leaning over to whisper in her ear, “Calm down, it's not like I saw anything. Well, except for the massive patch of blue that was covering it all. You just had to dye everything blue, huh?”

  


Then I swam back to Kate and took great pleasure in seeing how red Chloe's face turned.

  


I looked over in Victoria's direction right as she made a point of turning towards Chloe and saying, “You know, it was Kate who suggested we all go braless to make everything fair. Well, I think both of us being de-pantsed like that wasn't very fair at all. In-fact, we should get to do the same to them. Right?”

  


I heard Kate swear under her breath as Chloe glanced over in our direction and smirked.

  


I muttered loud enough for Kate to hear, “I think we should run.”

  


Kate audibly gulped. “I'm in agreement there.”

  


The instant Victoria and Chloe started swimming towards us, we both turned around with the intention of getting as far away as possible. Instead, we turned around to see Rachel right behind us, smiling from ear to ear. She grabbed hold of us and did a scary impression of an evil laugh before asking, “Where do you think you're going? I thought you were Sharks now? Sharks don't run, Otters do.”

  


I glanced at Kate and muttered, “Plan B?”

  


She glanced over her shoulder at Victoria and Chloe. “Plan B it is.”

  


The grin on Rachel's face was soon replaced by shock as we both dived out of her grip, swam under her, then pulled down her underwear before she could react and swam away as fast as we could.

  


However, now that we had all three of them against us and fully aware of our tactics, we soon got cornered at the opposite end of the pool and had no choice but to surrender. Unfortunately, Chloe put on her Captain Bluebeard voice and demanded there be no mercy so we got de-pantsed anyway.

  


After that, Rachel complained about turning into a prune if we stayed in the pool much longer so we decided to get out. We got dry, or as dry as we could considering we still smelled like chlorine, then got dressed and left before David could come crash the party. Actually, thank fuck he didn't wander in while we were in the pool... explaining to David why we were all braless would've been awkward, to say the least.

  


Once we were back outside, Chloe quickly came to the conclusion that five people crashing in her room was basically impossible so this time around we decided to sneak our way back into the dorms for the night since there was no evidence of a pool break-in to be reported, unlike last time. Pro tip Chloe – Don't shout 'See ya later, fuckers!' while fleeing the scene in your vehicle that already stands out like a sore thumb if you don't want to get caught. Just saying...

  


It didn't take long for us to reach the dorms. Once again the security guards were all sleeping, or whatever the fuck it is they do to avoid doing their job. We hurried inside and up the stairs to the girls floor before splitting up into our own rooms for the night so that we could try to get a little sleep before breakfast in the morning. Naturally, Chloe, and now Rachel, since she no longer had a room at Blackwell after going missing, were sleeping in my room for the night. Rachel immediately claimed the couch, feigning ignorance but I knew she did it just so that she could smirk across the room throughout the night while Chloe curled up to me in my bed.

  


I expected my usual nightmares, or even something about shooting Jefferson earlier, but for the first time in a while, none came. Looking back, despite how uncomfortable and insecure the events in the pool made me feel, I haven't had that much fun in years. So if I needed a reason to not have any nightmares, other than the fact I had Chloe cuddling me, I'd say that is one of them. What happened in the pool made me finally realize, I am no longer a shy little wallflower, but an over-protective, powerful time warrior who takes no shit and wants revenge on those who hurt me. The sooner I accept and own that, the better.


	14. An Unbreakable Bond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max interrupts something unexpected.
> 
> Max reveals something worrying.
> 
> Max finally has a chat with everyone's favourite cheerleader.
> 
> Breakfast is consumed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy (or not) Storm Week everyone! This is the week where the ingame dates match up with our irl dates, and for the first time since the release of LIS, it matches right down to the exact days of the week! It's also my birthday this Friday... On the 11th October... When the Storm hits. So if I disappear, you know why. :P
> 
> I was originally going to post this earlier on Monday for the start of Storm Week but when I realized that this chapter kick-started Wednesday morning, I figured it'd make more sense to wait until today to post it. So here you go, a few hours earlier than normal, but here's the latest chapter about the morning of Wednesday 9th October, released on the morning of Wednesday 9th October. How very meta. I really wanted to get this out in time so it might seem a little rushed, sorry about that. Hopefully I made up for it with a little more fluff. Let me know what you think!
> 
> Enjoy! :)

**Pricefield - Time Warriors**

  
  


**Chapter 14: An Unbreakable Bond**

  
  


I woke up the next morning in a surprisingly good mood. I reached across Chloe to check the time on my phone. It was almost 6am. I wasn't sure about Rachel, but Chloe always preferred to sleep in as much as possible so I silenced my alarm before it could wake either of them up, then carefully climbed out of bed without disturbing Chloe and left the room so that I could have a pee.

  
  


On the way back from the bathroom, I decided to see if Victoria was awake yet. I strolled up to her door and when I found it was unlocked, I casually poked my head inside. I blinked for a moment while my eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness from her overhead lights, then I glanced around the room and saw that Victoria was already awake. She was sat at her desk with her back to me, presumably messing around on her laptop. That's when I noticed she wasn't alone; as there was a hazel eye and unmistakable dirty-blonde hair peeking out at me from around Victoria's head. It took me another second to realize that Kate was currently sitting in Victoria's lap, and I'd probably just caught them making out.

  
  


I considered rewinding and not entering in the first place, though when I forced myself to make eye contact with Kate, I saw that she was the only one who had seen my intrusion and apparently she wasn't as fussed as I thought since she'd already gone right back to making out with Victoria. While maintaining eye contact with me. I quickly came to the conclusion that this was Kate's way of asserting dominance. Then I got an idea and smirked at her while putting a finger to my lips to tell her to be quiet before slowly creeping my way towards them. Kate's only reaction was to narrow her eyes at me as I got closer. Once I was close enough, I bent down right beside Victoria's ear and cooed teasingly, “Having fun there, Vic?”

  
  


Victoria leapt out of her chair as if she'd been electrocuted, sending Kate tumbling haphazardly onto her bed while giggling. Victoria spun around and didn't even have the energy to glare at me, she just stood there in shock, looking like she was about to have a panic attack.

  
  


I now felt very incredibly guilty for scaring her. “Fuck. I'm sorry, Vic. I thought you'd still be asleep, or at the very least alone, so when I saw what was happening I couldn't resist.” Then I grinned at her. “If it's any consolation, I'm glad you two finally figured things out.”

  
  


Victoria nodded sharply but was too caught up trying to calm herself down to reply so Kate spoke instead, “Last night really helped. It made me realize that I liked being a Shark, you know, bold and daring. I couldn't get the thought out of my head long enough to fall asleep, so I eventually gave in and, well... paid Victoria a visit.” She smirked at me. “Apparently she couldn't sleep either. So we talked. Or rather I did, Victoria mostly just listened.”

  
  


Victoria finally get herself under control and snorted. “If you hadn't noticed, I'm not very good when it comes to my feelings.”

  
  


I raised an eyebrow at her. “You were perfectly fine expressing those feelings a minute ago, Vic.”

  
  


Victoria just glared at me before turning to look at Kate and smiling at her. “I'm pretty sure that was all her. I didn't know you had that in you, Kate. Usually I'm the dominant one.”

  
  


Kate blushed and looked down at her hands in silence.

  
  


I snickered. “So what you're saying is, you enjoy being Kate's minion, huh Vic? I think that was blindingly obvious to all of us except for you.”

  
  


Victoria huffed and shot back with, “Yeah well, that's enough about me and Kate. What about you and Chloe?”

  
  


I put my hands up defensively, suddenly put on the spot.

  
  


Kate laughed. “Max, if I was able to get the courage to face Victoria after last night at the pool, the bigger question is did you do the same? After-all, the whole Shark thing was your idea, not mine.”

  
  


I groaned loudly, purposely ignoring Victoria's grin. “It's not like I had the chance with Rachel in the room. I'm pretty damn sure she knew that, too, since she kept smirking at me from across the room the entire night.”

  
  


Victoria crossed her arms and sarcastically replied, “Oh, well isn't that just a shame.”

  
  


I rolled my eyes at her. “So Vic, I don't exactly know your sleeping habits like I do Chloe's, but other than making out with Kate, is there a reason you're up so early?”

  
  


Victoria blinked. Then sighed and turned back to face her laptop before bringing up her emails and opening the latest one. “Well, in-case you forgot, we have the introductory meeting for the new Vortex Club Board Committee at lunch today, meaning all of us need to attend. I may have been worrying about that a little too much to fall back to sleep, so I checked my emails and discovered that Principal Wells had sent me one last night. Apparently, Courtney went bitching to him about being removed from the Vortex Club, and though he can't do anything to reinstate her as I control who is or isn't a part of it, he's pretty unhappy about being left out of the mass-email I sent to everyone detailing the Vortex Club changes which I assume Courtney forwarded to him. After we finish the formality of transferring power between the old and new Board Committee, he wants to have his own meeting with us to discuss what happens going forward.”

  
  


I swore under my breath. “That's just great... Of-course I completely forgot about the meeting today, with everything else on my mind that's not surprising. I suppose we'll have to come up with a plan for everything over breakfast, right?”

  
  


Victoria shrugged. “It looks like it, yeah.”

  
  


Kate yawned. “Then we'd better get a move on, we no doubt all still smell like we were in the middle of a chlorine explosion. Let's go grab showers first, then you can wake up Chloe and Rachel before figuring out the best way to sneak them into the shower room unnoticed.

  
  


I groaned. “Ugh. That's gonna suck.”

  
  


Victoria went over to her door and poked her head out. “The coast is clear guys, come on.”

  
  


We quickly left Victoria's room before anyone spotted us coming out together, then went to take showers. It felt amazing to finally wash off all that chlorine from last night. Eventually, we finished up and headed back to our own rooms to get ready for the day.

  
  


I quietly slipped back into my room and closed the door. Apparently Rachel had woken up at some point since I left and was in the middle of repeatedly poking Chloe's nose while she slept. She turned to me and had to stifle a laugh as a particularly loud snore came from Chloe. “Man I missed this. I forgot how much of a heavy sleeper Chloe could be.”

  
  


I snorted. “Yeah, I know. But if all else fails, there is one thing that will always wake her up. It's been ingrained in her memory since we were kids.”

  
  


Rachel scooted away from Chloe and gestured towards her. “Uh huh. Go ahead then.”

  
  


I smirked at her and cleared my throat, then drawled in a southern accent I'd learned over the years from Joyce, “Chloe, wakey wakey eggs and bakey!”

  
  


Chloe shot up in my bed wide awake, as if she'd been struck by a bolt of lightning, causing Rachel to burst out laughing. She slowly looked around the room and frowned once she saw me. “Max, I don't see any eggs and bacon. You know never to wake me up like that if you don't have eggs and bacon. The consequences will be severe.”

  
  


I raised an eyebrow at her teasingly. “What are you gonna do, eat me?”

  
  


Chloe froze completely, struggling to come up with a response while her brain was still half asleep.

  
  


Rachel chuckled. “I think you broke her with that one, Max.”

  
  


I rolled my eyes. “Come on, Chloe. You'll get your damn eggs and bacon if you wake up and go take a shower. You too, Rachel. You both still smell like chlorine.

  
  


Rachel hummed. “That's kinda pointless if we don't have anything to change into afterwards that doesn't also smell like chlorine.”

  
  


I sighed. “Since I know you're my size Rachel, I suppose you can both borrow something from my very limited selection of hipster clothing. That's assuming Chloe dares to be seen wearing my clothes.”

  
  


Chloe glanced at my wardrobe and grumbled to herself but eventually conceded. Then we snuck out into the hallway and made it into the shower room without anyone spotting us.

  
  


Rachel eyed up the shower stalls. “Does the middle one still have a fucked water temperature?”

  
  


I shrugged. “Yeah, though I prefer it.”

  
  


Chloe scoffed. “You enjoy being burnt to a crisp at random?”

  
  


That question hit me like an unexpected punch to the gut.

  
  


Rachel saw the sudden change in my expression and gently asked, “What is it, Max?”

  
  


I shook my head at her and glanced at Chloe before choking out, “The broken temperature never bothered me, in-fact I actually did enjoy it, in a way. Why? Because I felt like I deserved it. Every time the temperature randomly changed and blasted me with hot water, I was glad. It was just one of my many ways of punishing myself for... abandoning you, Chloe.”

  
  


Chloe's frown softened instantly and she quickly scooped me up into a hug before muttering into my ear, “I thought we'd gotten past that already, Max. I forgive you.”

  
  


I sniffled. “I know, Chloe. We have gotten past it... I just didn't expect you to say something like that, it caught me off guard, that's all.”

  
  


Chloe nodded into my shoulder, then released me. Once they were both satisfied that I was okay, they jumped into the shower stalls at both ends, avoiding the middle one I always used. Shaking off the negative thoughts, I left them to it and headed back out into the hall.

  
  


My anxiety leapt into action to distract myself from the painful memories, causing me to think about the upcoming Vortex Club meeting instead. It didn't take long for me to remember who is or was a member of the Vortex Club and suddenly I found myself knocking on Dana's door. Something I'd neglected to do this whole time. Of-course, she opened the door almost immediately. Dana was wide awake and dancing away to music early in the morning, as always.

  
  


Dana beckoned me inside and closed the door. “Hey Max. What can I do for you?”

  
  


I sat next to her on her bed and bounced my leg up and down while thinking about what to say.

  
  


Dana put her hand on my leg to stop it from bouncing, then gently probed, “Max, I know you well enough to know something's wrong. You know you can always talk to me, which is why I assume you knocked on my door. What is it?”

  
  


I rubbed my face and sighed. “Okay, I'll just say it. I know about Logan and the... you know.”

  
  


Dana leaned back to get a good look at me before pressing further. “Shit. I really don't want to know how you found that out. Well, what about it? I already, uh... took care of it, so...”

  
  


I cleared my throat. “Well, I assume you saw the email Victoria sent around about the Vortex Club yesterday?”

  
  


Dana raised an eyebrow. “I did. It's certainly a twist I didn't see coming. So, you somehow managed to get into the Vortex Club and onto Victoria's new Board Committee, huh?”

  
  


I nodded. “Yeah. She really is changing, Dana. Believe me. Anyway, we have our first introductory meeting at lunch today and the old Board Committee is supposed to attend. You was on it, weren't you?”

  
  


Dana shrugged. “Yep. Not that they listened to me much because of how critical I was of the way they were running things. Mostly it was the few richest elite students plus a couple like me that was there just for show.”

  
  


I hummed. “I'm kinda going into this blind so I don't suppose you could give me the names of all the old Board Committee members?”

  
  


Dana looked up in thought for a moment. “Well, there was Victoria and Nathan, Courtney and Taylor, Hayden was on it mostly because he could always be counted on to pull weed out of thin air. Then there's me for being one of the popular cheerleaders but again pretty much just for show, Juliet was on it mainly because of her being a reporter for the Blackwell Totem. Also Zachary and Logan too, since they were footballers. I think that's all of them.”

  
  


I took mental notes so that I didn't forget, then questioned, “Do you want to make Logan pay for being such a piece of shit? Even if we put aside what happened to you, I've seen him multiple times bullying students, like Daniel for example. Since I'm in charge of disciplining Vortex Club members now, that's definitely enough to kick him out under our new rules. I'll drop it on him at the meeting today but I'll let you be the one to bring up what he did to you, if you decide to, that is. It's your call.”

  
  


Dana stayed quiet for a minute while she thought it over. Finally, she muttered, “His excuses were a load of bullshit. I still can't believe I even got together with him in the first place... You do what you have to, but I'll mention this myself. Hopefully the only person on campus he fucks after this will be himself.”

  
  


I cringed. “Eww, I didn't need that mental image, Dana!”

  
  


Dana snorted. “Sorry, Max.”

  
  


I stood up and stretched before heading over to her door. “Thanks for the chat, Dana. I'll see you later.”

  
  


Dana nodded and waved as I stepped back into the hall and closed the door behind me. Then I made my way back to my room and found Chloe and Rachel studying the insides of my wardrobe.

  
  


I cleared my throat and exclaimed, “Rachel, you can have one of my Doe t-shirts. It suits you, all things considered.”

  
  


Rachel nodded and pulled one out along with jeans and a clean hoodie to keep herself hidden.

  
  


I rolled my eyes at Chloe, mumbling to herself about a lack of punk attire. “Hey Chloe, either you pick something or we'll be forced to drag you to the Two Whales completely naked, not that I'm complaining about that. I imagine Joyce would, though. Your choice, humiliation or humiliation. Pick one.”

  
  


Rachel caught my eye and smirked, so I returned a sly grin of my own.

  
  


Chloe exaggeratedly groaned before pulling out a plain black t-shirt and jeans.

  
  


I opted for a clean copy of yesterday's outfit, after-all I couldn't wear a hoodie to a Vortex Club meeting, even if it does represent everyone now.

  
  


We quickly got changed in silence, then went into the hall and knocked on Victoria's and Kate's doors. A minute later we were outside and heading towards the parking lot. Kate was bravely clinging onto Victoria's arm as we walked, refusing to let go and forcing Victoria to deal with it regardless of how many looks she got. Kate caught my eye and discreetly nodded towards Chloe as if to say, “Your turn, Max!”

  
  


I figured if Kate could do it, so could I. So I mentally forced my anxiety back into it's cage and locked it away long enough to casually step closer to Chloe and grab her hand. She looked at my funny for a moment before she realized what I was trying to do and slipped her hand into mine without saying anything.

  
  


I glanced over at Rachel and I think she took it as me asking for her approval, not that I was, because she simply rolled her eyes and threw her arms around me and Kate, linking all five of us together in an unbreakable bond of friendship, love, trauma and revenge. Now we just have to survive a Vortex Club Board Committee meeting and a chat with Principal Wells at lunchtime to solidify our titles as Queens of Blackwell, before we continue on with our main objective. This should be one of the most normal and least scary things we've had to do so far and with us Time Warriors now stronger than ever, it should be a piece of cake. Right?

  
  


The ride to the Two Whales was fairly uneventful, though the five of us were practically stuck to each other. Whether that was due to the relationships forming or the lack of space in Chloe's truck, is anyone's guess. Kate and Victoria were once again the ones who had to double up so that Rachel could fit inside the truck and since Kate sat in Victoria's lap last time, now it was Victoria's turn to sit in Kate's. However she waited for Kate to ask first before doing so, staying true to what they'd revealed to me earlier. Nobody else caught onto it but I did. We thought Kate was Victoria's bunny, well it turns out it's actually Victoria who is Kate's bunny.

  
  


Once we arrived at the Two Whales, we quickly untangled ourselves from each other and stretched out in the parking lot. Then we realized a problem. Firstly, Frank was in the diner eating his usual meal of beans. Man, Frank really loves beans doesn't he? Secondly, Joyce was working again this morning. A simple hoodie wouldn't be enough to keep Rachel hidden from view, especially from Joyce when she comes to take our orders. At-least Nathan didn't seem to be here this time around, presumably he was still worrying about what happened last night to have breakfast at the Diner.

  
  


I sighed and turned to Rachel. “I know we want to keep your survival a secret until Jefferson and co are dealt with but... well, if we want breakfast I don't think that's possible. We wont be able to hide you from Joyce, that's for sure. How do you want to play this?”

  
  


Rachel groaned. “Joyce knowing is fine, so long as she doesn't spread it around. I'm too hungry to care and I haven't had any of Joyce's cooking for 6 months. I need it.” Then she spotted Frank sitting in the corner and swore under her breath. “Ugh, what do we do about Frank, though?”

  
  


Chloe huffed. “Well, we kinda told him you were dead already... this was when we still thought you were actually dead in this timeline. He's probably going to kill me for lying if he sees you so I guess we'll just have to be quiet and not shout your name halfway across the Diner, yeah?”

  
  


I snorted. “I don't think we'd be doing that anyway, Chloe. Can't keep her a secret if everyone looks in our direction.” All the talk of Frank again made me realize something. “Oh, crap! Rachel, I completely forgot, I have your bracelet. Um... Frank gave it to Chloe when we told him about you and, well, she gave it to me.”

  
  


Rachel glanced at Chloe and smiled before turning back to me. “Keep it. I'm alive because of you. Besides, I'm not surprised you forgot you were wearing it, since I've been hanging around with you, I haven't seen you take it off once. Same with Chloe's beanie. You're already treating them as natural extensions to your personal style, like they were always there to begin with.”

  
  


I blushed slightly from the unexpected praise. “I, uh, thanks Rachel.”

  
  


Rachel nodded, then glanced back towards the Diner. “Okay, are we going inside or what? Everyone crowd around me like bodyguards or something, block me from Frank's line of sight. If he doesn't see me enter I should be fine once I'm sitting with my back to him.”

  
  


Chloe cracked her knuckles menacingly. “As you wish, Madam President.”

  
  


I rolled my eyes at that, then we cautiously entered the diner and headed towards our usual booth, making damn sure Frank didn't see who was wearing my hoodie.

  
  


We managed to make it to the booth without getting busted. Rachel squeezed into the corner next to the window with her back to Frank, while Kate and Victoria sat next to her. Me and Chloe sat opposite.

  
  


Rachel spotted Joyce already heading our way and muttered, “Let's just surprise her first. If she overreacts, just rewind and we'll try to find another way to break the news without blowing my cover.”

  
  


I nodded, fully expecting to need to rewind this at-least once.

  
  


Joyce reached the table and glanced around it. “Hello girls. I sure hope Max here isn't paying for breakfast again today, is she?”

  
  


Kate spoke up. “No, I am.”

  
  


Joyce nodded. “Okay then. Before I ask what you all want to eat, I have to ask... Max, did you sprout a clone overnight or something? Who's the mysterious person in the corner?”

  
  


I snorted. “Nah, not a clone, Joyce. We did manage to capture a ghost, though. See for yourself.”

  
  


Rachel turned away from the window and smiled at Joyce. “Good morning, Joyce. Guess who's back!”

  
  


Joyce simply stood there and stared for a good ten seconds before finally blinking. “Rachel? Well I never... this is not something I expected. Then again, first Max returns, now you? I shouldn't be that surprised, to be honest. It's... good to see you're okay, Rachel. I have questions of-course, but not now. I got a diner full of hungry folks to feed, you included. So, what are you all having?”

  
  


We rattled off our different orders, though as usual mine and Chloe's stayed the same; Belgian Waffles for me, Eggs and Bacon for Chloe. Rachel ordered a Bigfoot Bacon Omelette, for free upon Joyce's insistence as a welcome back meal. Neither Victoria or Kate were feeling particularly hungry so they decided to get a few sides to share between themselves.

  
  


When Joyce turned to leave, Rachel stopped her. “Hold on, Joyce. One more thing. I know I'm back but please don't go telling anyone. Like Max said, she caught a ghost. I'm happy to tell you that I'm here but I don't want anyone else knowing. I hate to ask this of you, but don't tell David, either. Not yet, anyway. Just act like you never saw me, please?”

  
  


Joyce frowned slightly and crossed her arms. “Why, do you really want people to think you're dead? What reason could you possibly have for that?”

  
  


Rachel smiled sadly. “You'll find out soon, Joyce. I know we haven't always seen eye to eye in the past, mostly when it comes to Chloe, but this isn't about her, it's about me. So I hope I can trust you to keep my appearance a secret until I'm ready for people to know. After-all, why do you think I'm wearing this hoodie? No offence to Max's taste in clothing but this isn't usually my kind of outfit.”

  
  


Joyce sighed. “Alright Rachel. You've made your point. My lips are sealed. Now excuse me while I go prepare your breakfast, girls.”

  
  


Once Joyce had walked back behind the counter, we collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

  
  


Victoria cleared her throat. “Now that's dealt with, we need to prepare for what's coming later today.”

  
  


Chloe raised an eyebrow. “And what's coming later today?”

  
  


Victoria smirked slightly. “The first meeting of the new Vortex Club Board Committee. That includes you, Chloe. I hope you haven't forgotten you have responsibilities now.”

  
  


Chloe groaned and let her head fall onto the table with a thud before murmuring, “Fuck, why did I ever agree to that...”

  
  


I elbowed her in the side playfully. “Because I did the same thing.”

  
  


Chloe sighed. “Whatever. What's this meeting for, exactly?”

  
  


Victoria crossed her arms. “Well, it's just an introductory meeting and a formal handing over of power from the old Board Committee to the new one. Most of the old Board Committee will be there to ask questions about the changes and stuff like that. I imagine almost all of it will be directed at me so I doubt you'll even have to do anything except sit there and try to act like you care.”

  
  


Rachel interrupted her with a cough. “You guys going to catch up the hella confused newbie over here first?”

  
  


Victoria hummed. “Long story short, I've completely changed the direction of the Vortex Club, removed the entire Board Committee and replaced it with everyone at this table except for you Rachel, the Vortex Club is no longer just for the elite wealthy students, but for everyone. The Vortex Club will protect students from bullying rather than be the cause of it, so I set up a Representation Council that everyone here is also a part of, for the various cliques around Blackwell to voice their concerns.”

  
  


Rachel nodded as she absorbed the information. “So you really are changing things, huh? It's about fucking time the Vortex Club was turned into something good. I know you did all of this before I popped up but uh, well, I guess I'm suddenly feeling a little left out now.”

  
  


Victoria raised an eyebrow. “Is that your way of saying you want to join the Board Committee as a Co-President?”

  
  


Rachel shrugged. “If you'll let me, sure. Not like I have anything else going on. What do I have to do, though?”

  
  


Victoria looked up in thought. “There's technically a Secretary position available but even I'm not mean enough to give you that. Since you know more people at Blackwell than anyone else here does, you'd probably be of better use if I split up Maxine's duties into two and let you be the one to consider new Vortex Club membership applications, while Maxine sticks to disciplining existing members. But since we're keeping you a secret, you can't be an official part of the Board Committee yet so for now I suppose you can just help out with everyone else's responsibilities, unofficially, of-course.”

  
  


Rachel tilted her head to the side in consideration. “Okay, that's fine with me. What does everyone else do then?”

  
  


Victoria rubbed her hands together. “Well, like I said, Maxine takes care of disciplinary actions. Chloe is in charge of planning Vortex Club parties. Kate does art and advertising, as-well as being in charge of our charity outreach program. Taylor is still the Treasurer but is also taking on the duties of the Secretary.” She smirked. “Meanwhile I get to be the President, and do nothing except judge you all for doing a terrible job at representing the Vortex Club.”

  
  


Kate slapped her on the arm for that. “Victoria, you know you wouldn't have let any of us into the Vortex Club if you didn't think we were actually capable of doing the job.”

  
  


Victoria rubbed her arm. “I know, Kate. I was joking.” She cleared her throat and continued, “Anyway, so we have the meeting coming up at lunchtime. We usually hold them inside the gym building. Once that's taken care of, we're apparently getting a visit from Principal Wells to discuss the changes and what happens going forward... that'll be a load of fun, I'm sure.”

  
  


Chloe groaned. “Are you sure he won't just kick me off campus for not being a student?”

  
  


Victoria shrugged. He can try if he really wants to, but he shouldn't. If I make you a part of the Vortex Club management, you have a right to be at any and all of our meetings, even if they're held on campus. Besides, if he actually tries to force the issue, we still have all that evidence we collected last night to make him see reason.”

  
  


Chloe sighed. “I doubt it'll be that simple. It never is with that asshole.”

  
  


Rachel nodded in agreement.

  
  


After that, the conversation changed to random bits of small talk while waiting for our breakfast to arrive.

  
  


Eventually, the food came and we wolfed down our meals in record time or at-least Chloe did. Hungry like the wolf, as always. Just as she promised, Kate paid for it all, then we stood up and after saying a quick goodbye to Joyce, we made our way back outside while shielding Rachel from view once more. We hurried back over to Chloe's truck and got inside before anyone managed to identify her, then set off back to Blackwell just in time for our morning classes to start.


	15. The Vortex Club Board Committee Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max hates Wednesday mornings.
> 
> Max really hates the World History teacher.
> 
> The Pirates of Arcadia Bay, Queens of Blackwell and Time Warriors hold their first Vortex Club Board Committee Meeting.
> 
> Principal Wells wants to make his opinions heard too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone and a belated happy new year to you all! :)
> 
> I hoped to push this out in time for the 1st but my depression wasn't cooperating as well as I'd hoped, so here you go one week later. That's better than never, right?
> 
> To make up for my hefty absence I tried to make this chapter longer than usual just hitting 8000 words. Also I forgot to say thank you for allowing PTW to reach 2000 hits, apparently it happened when I posted this chapter to give you a brief update instead the actual chapter. That's anticlimactic.
> 
> Speaking of the update, which I deleted and replaced with this real chapter, just incase some of you missed it I want to point out again a slight inconsistency I made in previous chapters regarding the timing of the Vortex Club party. I used to think it happened on a Friday night, the game's messy timeline of events confused the hell out of me and I only recently figured out that the Vortex Club party happens on Thursday night and lasts into Friday morning, where the Storm is scheduled to land just a few hours later. So, in this chapter and all future chapters, going forward any mention of the Vortex Club parties will be changed to be happening every Thusday, like they are meant to be. Apologies for the slip up.
> 
> Now, I don't know when the next chapter will come so please enjoy this one and let me know what you think! Hopefully it's not too rusty and all over the place after months of not writing. :)

**Pricefield - Time Warriors**

  
  


**Chapter 15: The Vortex Club Board Committee Meeting**

We arrived back at Blackwell and jumped out of Chloe's truck with ten minutes to spare.

I put one foot on the steps leading up onto campus before stopping to mentally recall my schedule, causing me to let out a tired groan once I realized what day it was.

Chloe stepped up next to me and muttered, “I heard that. What is it, Max?”

I turned to her and covered my mouth to stifle a yawn. “Nothing, I just remembered I hate Wednesday mornings. World History and Algebra. Ugh.”

Chloe snickered. “Ouch, that sucks. Too bad I won't be there to help you with the Algebra, huh?”

I rolled my eyes at her. “Well it's not like all of us can be nerds like you, Chloe. Besides, as much as I'd love to use you as my own personal calculator, I don't think the teacher would allow it.”

Chloe smirked and waggled her eyebrows. “Well now I know your kink, I'm sure there'll be time for pushing my buttons later, Max.”

It took a second for my still half-asleep brain to register what she meant. Ignoring my obviously burning face, I tapped into what little energy the two whales breakfast had given me, turned to look her right in the eye and winked before dead-panning, “Oh, I'll do more than push them.”

Chloe's jaw dropped in surprise and she stared at me with a mixture of pride and embarrassment.

Before she could come up with a suitable response, Rachel burst into laughter from somewhere behind us. “Holy crap, here I thought Chloe was the bold one. No mercy, huh Max?”

I looked over my shoulder at her and shrugged. “She's always been the one to push me outside my comfort zone. It's only fair I stand up for myself now after all the teasing I had to endure when we were growing up.”

Then I turned back to Chloe and nonchalantly said, “Don't give it if you can't take it, Price.”

Chloe, who had now recovered from my unexpected reply, simply raised an eyebrow and countered with, “I think you'll find I'm pretty good at both giving and taking.”

Kate appeared at my side, giggling, and muttered, “You walked right into that one, Max.”

I grinned at her and whispered, “Nah, she's the one who walked into it.”

Turning my attention back to Chloe, I narrowed my eyes at her playfully. “Okay then Chloe, if you think you're so good, I guess you'll just have to prove it. For real, no dares this time.”

Chloe audibly gulped. Then she steeled herself before replying with, “My room or yours?”

The few seconds it took for me to seriously consider that question without my mind wandering further into the gutter than it was meant to was enough for Victoria to pop out of nowhere and shove herself between us.

She huffed. “Down girls. If I hear any more of this, I'll throw up my breakfast.”

Just like that, Victoria had managed to cut the sexual tension with a proverbial knife.

I simply rolled my eyes and whispered loud enough for only her to hear, “Sorry Vic, I don't like being told to get down, unlike you.”

Victoria responded by glaring daggers at me and immediately attempted to change the subject, “Oh, by the way Maxine, I forwarded a few emails to you from people who applied for Vortex Club positions. Morons, sending them to me when I told them that you're the one handling applications, ugh.

I quickly pulled out my phone to check my emails. Indeed there were... quite a few applications. A bunch forwarded by Victoria like she said, and even more sent directly to me. Most of them were from names I didn't even recognize.

I sighed. “Some of these are from people on the old Board Committee, no surprise there, but it's not like I have time to go through these during class and they'll probably ask about them at the meeting later.”

Rachel piped up at that. “Oh! Uh, Didn't Victoria say I could help out with that stuff? Just forward them all to me and I'll send you a verdict on the ones that matter. Besides, it gives Chloe and I something to do while the rest of you are busy learning.”

I nodded at her. “Sure, sounds like a plan.”

We traded emails and phone numbers because we apparently hadn't done that yet, then I mass-selected all the application emails and forwarded them to Rachel.

I also pulled my dorm key out of my pocket and handed it to her. “You two can hide in my room again, someone needs to keep Lisa company, after-all.”

Chloe rolled her eyes while Rachel just smiled at me and took the key. “Well, It's the least I can do to repay the debt I owe you.”

I put a hand on her shoulder and shook my head. “No debt. Seriously, Rachel. The only thing I want from you is to be your friend.”

She grinned at that. “Gladly.”

The five minute bell rang then, saving us from an awkward silence.

Chloe tugged on Rachel's arm and started dragging her away. “Come on, Rach. Lets go sneak into the dorms while the kids are busy getting to class.”

I chuckled as Rachel struggled slightly before going limp and letting herself be carried away across campus.

Once they'd disappeared around the corner, the rest of us made our way inside the main building and headed to our World History class.

Of-course, it was no surprise that I fell asleep like ten minutes into the lesson and was very rudely woken from my nap by the sound of the teacher calling my name, who had clearly noticed and singled me out on purpose to embarrass me like he does during almost every class.

The teacher was stood next to his desk with his arms crossed. “Maxine Caulfield, do you have any idea what I just said or were you too busy snoring away at your table? Did you think you could dress up like some sort of punk rebel and get away with sleeping in my class? Nice try.”

I'm not entirely sure what came over me, but the way he phrased all of that, along with daring to use my full name despite knowing damn well I hate it, combined with how exhausted and anxiety-ridden I was for the meeting later today made me snap back in frustration with, “Oh I'm sorry sir, it's not my fault your classes are so mind-numbingly boring. Maybe if you put more effort into engaging with your students about the subject you're meant to be teaching instead of droning on by yourself, most of your class wouldn't already be half-asleep.”

My frustration apparently hit boiling point and overflowed, causing me to keep going full steam ahead, “Yet you constantly single out the students who are known to never like speaking up in class, like me, just because, what, I dared to change my outfit for once? Well if dressing up like a punk rebel as you call it gives me the confidence the stand up for myself and not hide away in my hoodie like normal, then you can go fuck yourself, sir. Now, would you please continue your boring lecture and pretend this once shy hipster never said a word, or should I walk out that door and make damn sure everyone knows you enjoy picking on your quieter students just to make them squirm in embarrassment?”

I collapsed back into my chair and glared at him, while he stood there and stared at me in shock along with most of the class who'd been woken up by my outburst.

Eventually, the teacher cleared his throat and buried his face in the pile of notes he was reading from, deciding to continue teaching as if I hadn't just earned myself a trip to Wells' office.

I glanced around to Kate and Victoria to get their reactions. Kate smirked and gave me a thumbs up. Victoria stared at me with wide eyes, then made a spiralling motion with her finger, presumably asking if I was going to rewind what just happened. I considered it for a moment before shaking my head at her and deciding to stick with it. If the combination of Chloe's beanie and Rachel's bracelet has given me the power to not get walked all over then so be it, I'm perfectly happy with their good-bad influence.

The rest of World History and thankfully all of Algebra went by without anything else happening. Unless you count me losing brain cells trying and failing to comprehend Algebra. It might as-well be an alien language for all I care, I'll never be able to understand that crap. Unfortunately, the wave of relief I got from the lunchtime bell going off was short-lived and very quickly replaced by a spike of anxiety over the meeting that was about to happen.

While most of the student body made their way to the cafeteria or went off-campus for lunch, Kate and Victoria half-dragged me in the direction of the Gym where the meeting was taking place, while I struggled to clamp down on my sudden roller-coaster of anxiety. It took some time but I managed to get myself back under control, for the most part. Once Kate and Victoria realized I was okay, they let go so that I could walk on my own.

To distract myself from my thoughts even further, I pulled out my phone and checked my email to skim over the more important Vortex Club applications that Rachel had made decisions on and sent my way throughout the morning. I was still reading when we rounded the corner and almost walked right into Chloe and Rachel, who were waiting just outside the Gym building for us.

Chloe huffed. “You guys took your time. I half expected Wells to pop out of no-where and kick me off campus before you even showed up.”

Victoria rolled her eyes. “We have to deal with the others before that drunk oaf makes and appearance, relax Chloe.”

Rachel stood next to me and peered over at my phone. “Going through the applications I sent?”

I nodded. “Yeah, from the ones you've sent me, it seems we're in agreement.”

Then I turned to Victoria. “So, since you put me, or I suppose now it's Rachel and I, in charge of deciding applications... do we need to run anything by you first or can we actually make the decisions?”

Victoria shrugged. “I wouldn't have given you, either of you, the role if I didn't trust your judgement. As surprising as that might be. You don't need to consult me on everything, what you decide is what happens. I mean, I might still intervene in the heat of the moment if I really need to shoot something down but for the most part, you guys have control.”

I put my phone back in my pocket and shrugged at her. “I guess we're about to see just how much control you trust us with, then.”

Kate spoke up before Victoria could reply. “Uh, Rachel's not joining us at the meeting, right?”

Chloe snorted. “Not if she wants to remain as a secretly alive ghost.”

I glanced sideways up at Rachel. She appeared to be conflicted and deep in thought, so I nudged her with my elbow to get her attention before suggesting, “After the initial introductions are done and we deal with those who sent in applications, we could introduce Rachel to the rest as a surprise. I expect it to go badly and backfire but what's the harm in trying? We can just rewind and keep her hidden if anything goes wrong.”

Rachel hummed. “Some of them were actually my friends that I'd like to finally see and talk to again, but some of them are also the biggest spinners of the Blackwell rumour mill so I don't know if they'd be able to keep me a secret...”

She went silent for a few seconds before sighing and continuing, “Fuck it, we might as-well give it a try. I'll hide out here until you give me, uh, a signal?”

Rachel raised a questioning eyebrow at me, to which I just smirked and replied, “Someone's going to come storming out eventually. That'll be your cue.”

Chloe stepped closer and casually bumped her shoulder into mine. “Not gonna tell us what you have planned, huh?”

I grinned at her. “That'd spoil the surprise, Chloe. You'll just have to wait and see.”

She rolled her eyes at that.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Dana and Juliet heading our way, followed by a bunch of the others. Once Rachel noticed them, she let out a little squeak before rushing off further up the path, past the Gym and around the corner.

As soon as they got close enough to hear us, Victoria huffed out a, “It's about fucking time guys. Let's get this thing over with so we still have time to eat some lunch.” Then she shoved open the doors to the Gym, with the rest of us following her inside.

The Gym was pretty much empty except for a few tables pushed together in the middle surrounded by a bunch of uncomfortable-looking chairs. I assume it was done by Samuel, who probably had to set this up himself every week for the scheduled Vortex Club meetings because everyone else was too lazy to think ahead and set it up themselves. Sorry Samuel.

Eventually, everyone had arrived and taken a seat. Victoria sat directly in the middle with Kate on her left and Taylor, who had apparently come in with the others, sat next to Kate. I sat on Victoria's right, and Chloe sat next to me, while the rest of the group sat facing us across the table.

Before the silence could become awkward, Victoria cleared her throat and sprang into action. “Thank you everyone, for attending this formal transferring of power between the old Vortex Club Board Committee and the new Vortex Club Board Committee. I know you will all likely have many questions and I presume most of you have submitted applications for one position or other which will be addressed once we're done with the questions, if that's okay with you, Maxine?”

Victoria glanced at me and tilted her head questioningly, to which I silently nodded my agreement, then she continued, “Alright. So, first thing's first, raise your hands if you didn't read the initial mass-email I sent out explaining my reasoning behind all of this.”

None of them raised their hands.

Victoria hummed in surprise before speaking again, “Well, good,. At-least we're all on the same page to start with. Okay, let's hear any questions or concerns you guys have.”

None of them spoke, they all just glanced around at each other unsure what to do.

Victoria rolled her eyes, slowly exhaled, then smiled at them. “If you guys read my fucking email then you should know I'm not going to bite your damn heads off. You can speak freely, I want to hear what you have to say.”

Eventually, Dana was the first to speak up, albeit hesitantly. “Sorry Victoria, this is just such an unexpected monumental change to the Vortex Club that I don't think any of us really know where to start.”

Chloe snorted next to me. “Yeah she kinda flipped everything on it's head, huh? I suppose it doesn't help that she was crazy enough to apparently give her worst enemies the power to override her decisions. I mean, I can still hardly believe it, and I'm the one who caused her to spell out 'FUCKU' on her chemistry homework when I still came here.”

Hayden choked back a laugh at that. “Shit, that was you? I still remember that clear as day, when Victoria stood up in class and read the answer out loud, not realizing... Ms. Grant was not impressed, I can tell you that much.”

Chloe smirked and leaned across the table, looking down at Victoria. “You'll never guess what she tried to insult me with after she got in trouble. Do you want to tell them Victoria, or should I?”

Victoria groaned under her breath but otherwise stayed silent.

Chloe shrugged to herself. “Fine then. She tried to spell out 'CUNT' with the periodic table. Unfortunately she used Carbon Uranium Nitrogen Tin, which if anyone here is remotely good at remembering the periodic table should know that spells...”

Juliet snickered from across the table. “Great job Victoria, you called her a 'CUNSN'.

There was a few more chuckled from across the table as Victoria raked a hand down her face in embarrassment.

Kate spoke up in defence of Victoria. “Okay, now that everyone's done laughing at Vic's lack of chemistry knowledge and the ice has been suitably broken, let's continue with the reason we're all here, shall we? Any questions or concerns?”

Victoria sighed next to me. “Before any of you go ahead with that, I might as-well quickly address the first point Dana made about this being such a sudden massive change in direction. The thing is, I wanted to do this for a long time, I wanted to change the way I acted towards everyone, I just couldn't find a way to take that step without feeling like everything would come crashing down, you know? But once I finally did, I couldn't just sit by and let the Vortex Club stay how it was, could I?”

Dana shrugged. “Well, you know Juliet and I were the biggest critics of the way the Vortex Club was acting, and we were still a part of the damn thing, so you'll get no complaint from either of us. It's about fucking time the Vortex Club become something that could help this shithole of a school become a better place rather than make it worse.”

Juliet nodded beside her. “I do have one question though, but I mean no offence by it. Out of all the people you could've chose for the new Board Committee, you picked your worst enemies who were also your worst victims. I know you gave your reasons in the mass-email but if you chose them because you only wanted to atone for your previous actions, most of the damn school should be on the new Board Committee. So why did you really trust them with so much power?”

Victoria leaned forward in her chair and spoke clearly. “Yes, I chose them to try to make up for some of what I did to them before, but mainly because they were the ones who finally made me take that step I was too afraid to take alone. They helped me, when, I mean to no offence by this either, but I'm pretty damn sure most of you would've just walked away thinking I was playing another trick on you, or would've tried to exploit me to climb the social ladder like Courtney did. I couldn't risk letting my mask slip with any of you, but once they saw through it they forgave me and convinced me that if I truly wanted to be better, I wasn't alone.”

Juliet swore under her breath and looked away, clearly feeling guilty that she'd have probably jumped at the chance to put Victoria in her place the second she showed weakness.

Hayden spoke next once he realized Juliet wouldn't continue. “Okay, I can guess this is probably a touchy subject, but what the hell happened with Nathan? I know he had his... extreme moments, and the reason the Vortex Club was how it was before was mostly because of him, but he was your friend and he did fund just about everything in the Vortex Club with his father's money. Was it such a good idea to, like, remove every trace of him from the Vortex Club like you did?”

Without missing a beat, Victoria shot back harsher than she should have with, “Yes, it fucking was.” Then she winced and corrected herself, “Sorry. Yeah, touchy subject. It needs to stay private. As for his funding, well, I'm going to be using a lot of the money my own parents' send me to cover the sudden lack of his money. Assuming Taylor can keep my spending to a minimum, it should be more than enough to cover the costs of day to day activities, especially now that there's restrictions on the consumption of our party supplies. We won't need to buy as much as we did before.”

Hayden nodded, apparently satisfied.

Zachary piped up for the first time. “On the subject of party supplies, was the alcohol limit really necessary? Most of us who drink know how much we can handle, we don't need babysitting.”

Chloe scoffed. “Dude, you just want to get shitfaced.”

Zachary rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Well, that was kind of a big part of the parties for me, you know, being able to drink the night away with a bunch of friends and have fun after the stress of school and football.”

Victoria rolled her eyes. “Well, in-case you don't remember, the Vortex Club won't just be for the elite, rich, entitled students now. It's for everyone. Which means certain sacrifices have to be made to ensure a safe environment and comfortable atmosphere for anyone who attends our parties. The amount of people, girls especially, that I've personally seen passed out drunk at Vortex Club parties in the past is sickening. Anything could've happened to them and nobody gave a shit. That fucking changes, now. So yes, Zach, you can only drink 3 solo cups of alcohol at half of our parties every Thursday. I'm sorry if the safety and inclusion of students gets in the way of your need to apparently give yourself alcohol poisoning.”

Kate snickered at that.

Logan wasn't impressed and apparently felt the need to back up his fellow footballer by saying, “Laugh all you want, church girl. At-least we can handle our alcohol, unlike you.”

The entire table went silent at the reference to Kate's first attempt at attending a Vortex Club party. Suffice to say, the four of us were ready to rip Logan's fucking head off for that comment, while Taylor and everyone else looked on with varying degrees of apprehension.

Victoria seemed like she was about to explode until Kate placed a hand on her arm and muttered, “I got this.”

Then Kate stood up, walked around the table to where Logan was sitting and casually leaned up against it before speaking in an eerily calm tone. “Logan, there is a reason that happened, and it's not because I can't handle alcohol. I've drunk wine at church before, and even plenty of times in the safety of my dorm, in-fact more often that I'm comfortable admitting. So I can handle my alcohol. I can tell you for a fact that I only had one sip of the wine on offer at the last Vortex Club party but I didn't like it, so I switched to water. One sip of wine is not enough to get wasted so much you end up doing what I did in the video that I know everyone here saw before Victoria took it down. So I'll tell you and everyone else here what I told Victoria.”

She leaned in close to Logan, like she was going to whisper in his ear, before suddenly shouting as loud as she could, “I WAS FUCKING DRUGGED!” Then she shoved him so hard that he and his chair toppled backwards, sending him crashing to the floor.

The four of us immediately stood up and went to shield Kate, who was standing there red in the face, breathing heavily, and surprised she even had the strength to push Logan over like that. Everyone else stared on in silent shock, either at the revelation she was drugged, or the fact Kate swore. Either way, the table was deathly quiet by the time we'd managed to sit Kate back down and Logan had extracted himself from the floor.

Victoria was furious but managed to keep her voice clear as she spoke up. “That is why, Logan, Zach, there is a limit on alcohol AND drug usage at future Vortex Club parties. Not just for Kate's safety, but everyone's. Those girls I mentioned that I spotted at previous parties who were blackout drunk? They could've been roofied, they could've been fucking raped, they could've been dragged out of the party and never seen again. None of you would've given a shit because either you don't care or you'd have been too fucking wasted to realize anything was wrong. I can not and will not have anything like that happen again in the Vortex Club for as long as I am President. If anyone here has a problem with that, then you are welcome to get the fuck out and never come back. Clear?”

I glanced around the table for everyone's reactions. Taylor had her arm around Kate, Hayden was staring at Victoria suspiciously which could mean he may have put Nathan's sudden expulsion together with what happened to Kate, if so, hopefully he doesn't try to bring it up. Dana had gotten up to give Kate a hug while glaring daggers at Logan. Juliet was reaching across the table to grab Kate's hand. Zachary simply nodded his head in understanding, looking ashamed at being called out. Logan just sat there in silence like he'd been punched in the gut, probably still recovering from being winded by his ever-so unfortunate (NOT!) collision with the floor.

Victoria muttered loud enough for everyone to hear, “Does anyone have any further questions or concerns about the new Vortex Club direction?”

When everyone shook their heads, Victoria continued, “Okay then. Now we will move on to addressing your various Vortex Club applications.” She glanced at me and said, “Maxine, the floor is yours.”

I nodded and sat up straight, taking a deep breath to calm my nerves and the lingering rage from what had just happened, then I spoke. “Right. Before I begin, I want to clarify that although considering applications is my job, I don't really know some of you very well, so I had some extra help from someone else on making these decisions, the person who for now has to remain anonymous, however I will say that once they are revealed, they will be joining the Board Committee and taking this part of my job while I retain control over disciplinary measures for existing members. With that out of the way, I'll begin by saying that a bunch of you sent applications to also join the Board Committee which considering you all used to be on it, is no surprise. Unfortunately, it came to my attention that some of you, no offence intended, were only part of the previous Board Committee because you were the token popular person in your respective field rather than because you were helping to further the Vortex Club itself. That is where the difference between old and new begins; we will only be accepting applications to join the Board Committee if you have something useful to offer us, a skill that we need, a way to improve the daily running of the Vortex Club, etc. We don't want you because you're popular, we want you because you're good at something we need. As such, Logan, Zach and Dana, your applications are unfortunately denied. You're welcome to re-apply using the new metrics I just mentioned and give a reason why you specifically would be able to further the Vortex Club. Regarding Hayden and Juliet's applications, I won't straight up deny them because I see something you could both offer us, but since you applied under the old metrics I must first tell you what we need from you.”

I took a few seconds to catch my breath and let that sink in. Both Hayden and Juliet nodded so I continued,

“Okay, Hayden, I know you like to get blazed, and I also heard you could practically pull weed out of thin air, is that true?”

He snorted. “Sure. Something like that.”

I tilted my head to the side. “I assume you have contacts. Dealers. Perhaps Frank Bowers?”

Hayden shrugged. “Maybe.”

I crossed my arms. “Would you be willing to officially be the person in charge of keeping our Vortex Parties supplied with weed and alcohol, when we need more?”

After a moment of thought, he nodded. “Since I pretty much did most of that before anyway, sure, why not?”

I looked at Victoria and asked, “Is that okay with you, Vic?”

Victoria glanced up in thought before agreeing. “Yeah. He'll need an official title though. Something like... the Vortex Club's 'Procurement Specialist'?”

Hayden hummed. “That good enough for me.”

Victoria smirked at him. “Then welcome to the Board Committee, Hayden the 'Procurement Specialist'.”

Hayden stood up to bow before sitting back down again, pleased with himself.

With that done, I turned to Juliet next. “So Juliet, I'll cut to the chase. Since you're a fantastic reporter and you run the Blackwell Totem, would you be interested in joining us in an official capacity in charge of Public Relations? I'm sure everyone's well aware of how negative the student body views the Vortex Club right now and we need someone who's good at reporting the truth to do just that, so will you be our PR person and get the truth out there about just how dedicated the Vortex Club is to changing its ways?”

Juliet's eyes went wide. “Holy shit, seriously?”

I snorted. “Well we don't have anyone else at Blackwell who's even remotely qualified to help with our public image, except for you.”

She grinned at that, before suddenly frowning. “Hold on, if I were to accept, wouldn't this mean I'd become a biased journalist writing in favour of the Vortex Club? I know I was already biased towards writing against it before, but the student body might not like it if I suddenly switch directions, you know?”

I shrugged at her. “Not necessarily. The main reason I suggested it is because while we already have the Representation Council being set up, that is divided into dozens of separate subjects and cliques. We need someone who speaks directly from the Vortex Club to Blackwell as a whole and since you run the school newspaper, you're the best person for the job. We don't want you to lie for us. Tell the truth, show the student body what it is that you see in the Vortex Club. No need to be biased, just report the facts, positive and negative. People need to see that the Vortex Club is no longer going to bully them into submission, but rather protect them from that very same thing.”

Juliet sat there for a solid minute, mulling over the offer before saying, “Fuck it. Lets give it a shot. I mean, you are right that there's nobody better suited for the job so how could I say no based on that praise alone?”

I snickered. “Good choice. Vic?”

Victoria cleared her throat. “If you think you can turn our public image around Juliet, then sure. Welcome to the Board Committee as our, uh... official 'Blackwell Public Relations Liaison'.”

Juliet grinned and gave Dana a high-five.

I coughed and cleared my throat again before continuing, “Now, regarding the second set of applications from those who wished to have a seat on our new Representation Council, this will be judged more on your popularity, knowledge and expertise in the subject or clique you applied for, since you will be the voice for all the others who are in your area of influence, basically. So those of you who applied for Board Committee positions might actually be more suited for the Representation Council, just keep that in mind. Since we are going to be representing everyone at Blackwell, there's a wide variety of seats to fill. For example, a suggestion if I may; Zachary, since you're a skilled footballer, you could instead apply to represent your fellow footballers here at Blackwell to give them a voice. Likewise, Dana also applied to represent the cheerleaders and I'm more than happy to accept that considering how skilled and popular she is as Blackwell's top cheerleader.”

Dana blushed with pride. “Thank you, Max!”

I simply nodded and smiled at her.

I sat back and stretched in my chair.

Victoria leaned across the table to look over at me. “Are you done, Maxine?”

I quickly sat up again and glanced back at Dana, who short a dirty look in Logan's direction before giving a me a sharp nod.

I shook my head at Victoria and said, “Just one more thing to take care of.” then I glared at Logan and cracked my knuckles before speaking again, “Since I am the one in charge of disciplining existing members when they breach our code of conduct and deciding their fates within the Vortex Club, it brings me great pleasure to be able to bring the hammer down for the first time. After what transpired during this meeting today, I am hereby revoking Logan Robertson's Vortex Club membership. Permanently. Any applications sent in future, whether it's for a membership or a position of power, are null and void. You are banned from any Vortex Club party or event that requires a membership to attend, though you can still attend those that are open to everyone if you wish, however you will be strictly monitored and removed at the first sign of anything that does not meet the standards of safety and tolerance we will be holding every student to.”

Logan spluttered his response all over the table in surprise before properly finding his words, “What the fuck? You're kicking me out just because I said one little thing? How the fuck is that fair?!”

I crossed my arms and glared at him. “Now that you asked, you aren't being booted just because of what you said to Kate today, though believe me when I say that if that was all you had done, I would still not hesitate to kick your ass to the curb. But no, it turns out that you're actually a massive bully. I mean, everyone knows it. I've even personally seen it happen multiple times, when you're pushing other students into lockers, demanding lunch money, that kind of childish crap. Even to poor Daniel, who doesn't hurt a fly and did nothing to you. Well, now that the Vortex Club is once again the shield that protects Blackwell students from all forms of bullying, rather than the thing that causes it, your actions are not compatible with the code of conduct we expect from our members.”

Logan simply stared at my with his jaw hanging wide open.

I made eye contact with Dana and gave her a nod.

Dana sat up straight and took a deep breath before turning towards Logan, “Not only are you a bully, Logan, you are a pathetic excuse for a human being that willingly gets a girl pregnant and then immediately runs away and abandons her. You are the kind of deadbeat asshole that us girls at Blackwell need to stay away from. God, I can't believe I fucked you, never-mind the fact I let you talk me into not using a condom. You got me pregnant and then you left me, rather than be there for the mother of your potential unborn child, you instead offered me a pitiful amount of money and a half-assed apology note. Well, I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I got rid of it so you don't need to worry! Ugh, I'm going to make sure the only person you fuck at Blackwell after this is yourself, you disgusting piece of shit!”

Every girl at the table was now glaring at him in disgust.

Juliet wrapped her arms around Dana, who promptly broke down and started sobbing.

Hayden shook his head in disbelief while rubbing a hand on Dana's back.

Zachary actually lifted up his chair and dragged it to the opposite end of the table.

Logan kept looking back and forth between me and Dana with a stunned expression on his face.

I slammed my fist on the table to get his full attention. “Logan, you are not welcome at this meeting. I suggest you leave with what tiny amount of dignity you still have left.”

Logan frowned. “Fuck that, make me, bitch.”

Before I could even register the streak of blue in my peripheral vision, Chloe was up in a flash and in Logan's face.

She growled at him with all the fury that one pissed-off Chloe Price could manage, “I will. Now... Get. The. Fuck. Out.”

Logan sneered at her and simply said, “Nah.”

Then he actually tried to throw a punch at her.

That fucking escalated quickly.

Chloe easily dodged it, but just like that Logan brought down the wrath of the entire Vortex Club on himself; Hayden and Zachary were up and restraining him before he could even try for a second punch. Everyone dog-piled in, including Kate, and together we dragged him towards the Gym entrance, shoved him outside and closed the door in his face.

Logan swung around and glared at us through the doors before attempting to hit it in frustration, only coming away wincing in pain and storming off nursing his injured hand.

Chloe snorted. “Fucking dumb-ass, what did he think was going to happen?”

Dana muttered aloud, still in shock. “I can't believe he tried to punch you. What the fuck. He was never like that towards me.”

Victoria scoffed. “Clearly you didn't piss him off enough to find out until now. Looks like you dodged a bullet there, Dana.”

Zachary hesitantly placed a hand on Dana's shoulder. “Don't worry, D. We'll make sure everyone knows just how much of a pussy he is. Right Hayden?”

Hayden nodded. “Damn straight.”

I glanced back through the entrance to see if Logan was still outside, but instead I saw Rachel creeping her way towards the doors so I nudged Victoria to get her attention. She gave me the key to the doors, then I called back over my shoulder, “Okay everyone, now that the fun is over, sit back down. I have a surprise for you.”

Once everyone was seated again, I unlocked the doors and let Rachel in.

She kept her hood up as I led her over to the table and as soon as she sat down, she pulled down the hood and exclaimed, “Clearly I just missed some hella drama. What the fuck happened, Max?”

Rachel kept staring at me and ignoring the choruses of “Rachel?!” going around the table.

Eventually I turned to her and muttered, “Logan tried to punch Chloe. He missed.”

Rachel exploded. “HE DID WHAT?!”

Hayden piped up while covering his ears, “Relax Rachel, we got rid of him, obviously.”

Rachel blinked and the fire that appeared in her eyes for a split second vanished as she turned to look at Hayden and the others. “Oh. Sorry, I didn't see you guys there. Hey everyone. I'm back!”

Dana rolled her eyes. “Yeah we can see that, Rach. The question is, what the fuck happened to you? Where did you go?”

Rachel fidgeted uncomfortably before replying, “Sorry guys, it's a secret. For now. Just like me being here. I just wanted to drop in and say a quick hi to my friends, but nobody saw me. Okay? My sudden reappearance will not be discussed outside this building, understood?”

Juliet weakly protested, “But-”

Rachel immediately cut her off. “That includes you, Jules. I'm serious. Don't spread anything around, otherwise Chloe here will come rip your fingernails off one by one. Got it?”

Juliet raised an eyebrow at that but reluctantly nodded.

I cleared my throat and spoke up. “Everyone, Rachel is our anonymous Board Committee member. She helped me judge your applications. She's not ready to come out of hiding yet though so nobody saw her here, okay?”

I glared around the table and repeated myself, “Okay?”

Everyone nodded affirmatively.

I smirked, then looked over to Victoria and nodded, signalling that I was finished.

She stood up and stretched, then said, “Alright guys, the meeting's over. Go eat what little crap is left in the shitty cafeteria while you still can.”

Everyone groaned and got up to leave, but not before fist-bumping Rachel, or in Dana and Juliet's case, crushing her in a massive bear hug.

Once everyone else had left the building, Rachel put her hood back up and followed them out to go wait back around the corner while the rest of us stayed inside to wait for Principal Wells' visit.

After a few minutes, he walked through the doors. Thankfully, he was alone.

Wells said down across from us and glanced from one to the other, frowning deeply once he realized Chloe was here.

She must've expected him to protest so she pre-empted his complaint by speaking first. “Hey Wells. Long time no see, right? Unfortunately you can't kick me off campus this time since I'm now part of running the Vortex Club.”

Wells sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, causing Chloe to smirk in satisfaction.

Victoria spoke up before Wells or Chloe could make things any worse. “Sir, we don't have much time left until lunch is over so could we make this quick, please?”

Wells glanced once last time at Chloe before turning his attention to Victoria. “Very well, Miss Chase. I'll avoid commenting on your odd decision to include a non-Blackwell student in the Vortex Club's management and instead say that for the most part, I support this unexpected change in direction from the Vortex Club, assuming you're being serious about it.”

Victoria nodded. “I am.”

Wells nodded. “Good. I do have one... issue to raise, however. It's about your apparent allowance of alcohol and drugs at, well, some of your Vortex Club parties. You know we have a zero tolerance policy on the consumption of all drugs and alcohol on campus grounds. Explain your logic as to how you think I'd sanction such a thing, Miss Chase.”

Victoria rolled her eyes at him. “Respectfully, sir, don't try to take the high road right now. It's not a good look when we both know your allowed the exact same thing to happen at Vortex Club parties so long as you were getting paid by the Prescott's to turn a blind eye.”

Wells' frowned at her. “I don't appreciate what you are insinuating, Miss Chase.”

Victoria raised an eyebrow. “Sir, you do realize Nathan was my best friend, right? He told me... well, almost everything. Remember I was still co-president of the Vortex Club while all of this was happening, so you can be damn sure he told me all about it.”

Wells sighed, but Victoria carried on before he could speak. “Honestly, sir, if I must pay you like the Prescott's did just so you'll turn a blind eye then I will. However, I'd imagine you'd be ecstatic right now about no longer being under the thumb of the Prescott's and I doubt you'd be very happy to be under my thumb either. Besides, I don't want to have to resort to doing such a thing myself.”

Wells folded his hands together in contemplation. “Then what do you suggest, Miss Chase?”

You said you support the Vortex Club's change in direction. Well, prove it. I assume you read the email I sent out to everyone except you, which wasn't intentional. I was kind of in a rush to get it done at the time and missed adding your email to the chain. Anyway, you see that I am limiting the consumption of drugs and alcohol so that the only drug allowed is weed, which we both know isn't as much of an issue as you make it out to be, and three solo-cups of alcohol per person. That's it. Also don't forget that we're alternating the party each week so that there is one without drugs and alcohol then the next week there is. I'm trying to be as inclusive as possible for all students while at the same time ensuring their safety by controlling the consumption rate of drugs and alcohol. When you previously turned a blind eye to our Vortex Club parties, there were no limits, at all. People were getting blackout drunk all over the place and taking much harder drugs than weed. Now that I am fully in control of the Vortex Club, I am making sure that never happens again. You can probably assume the student body would be overall pleased with the new Vortex Club, that'd be a lot more happy students and a lot more people attending our parties. With the student body morale in the green while at the same time they are much less hungover and high, I imagine that their productivity would increase. Grades would improve. Blackwell improves. Your image improves. You see the chain reaction here? All that stems from you simply allowing me to control our contraband intake to the point where you can reliably claim there's no such thing happening at our parties because the after-effects are much more short-lived and unnoticeable. Plus, If you're concerned about the illegality of it, don't you think that it would be much worse to willingly take a money bribe to turn a blind eye, rather than just turning a blind eye because you think it will make your students happier?”

Wells sat there in silence as he absorbed everything I'd said and considered his options. Eventually, he spoke up. “You make a convincing argument, Miss Chase. Very well. If you can seriously keep the alcohol and drug usage to a minimum like you say, and keep it confined to your parties, then I shall not cause any problems. However, the minute things get out of control, you can expect me to step in and ensure a completely clean Vortex Club happens, otherwise I'll just straight up disband it. You only have one shot to do this your way, and there will be no more bribes now that the Prescott's can't influence me further, so don't bother trying. Do I make myself clear, Miss Chase?”

Victoria nodded and extended her hand towards Wells so they could shake on it. “Crystal clear, sir. I won't let you down. Blackwell will be a safe and fun place to learn again, as long as I am President of the Vortex Club.”

Wells stood up in silence and walked out without another word.

I cleared my throat. “Well, that went, uh... Well? I'm surprised he agreed to it so readily.”

Victoria shrugged. “So am I, but I'm not complaining. He must see the potential improvements to the student body that'll make him look like a good Principal and not a drunken fool for once.”

Now that Wells had left, there was no reason for us to stay so we exited too, with Victoria locking the Gym behind us.

While we were walking back towards the main campus, Chloe asked, “So, what now?”

I glanced around to make sure we were alone before saying, “Well for Kate, Victoria and I, we have Photography Lab after lunch, which once we attend the start of class, it basically becomes a free period for us. We get to leave campus, go out around town or whatever, take a bunch of pictures and bring them back to develop towards the end of class.”

Victoria grunted. “Thank fuck for that because no way am I eating anything in that cafeteria. We can just grab some snacks in town instead.”

I hummed. “I think we should try to use our extra time wisely. Maybe go on a reconnaissance mission to the Prescott's fortress of doom to plan out our smash-and-grab on Sean's Prescott's 'Black Market Ring' files he supposedly keeps in his study?”

Kate groaned. “Why can't we ever do something safe and fun, Max?”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “Swimming in the Blackwell pool wasn't fun?”

Kate scoffed. “Of-course it was, but you know what I mean, Max. Why are we constantly diving head-first into dangerous situations?”

I smirked. “Because unfortunately, that danger will find us eventually unless we gain control of the situation and strike first. After-all, the Time Warriors still have bad guys to defeat.”


	16. The Turbulence Before The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Time Warriors must acquire a drone for "aerial photography".
> 
> Principal Wells drops one last bomb.
> 
> Plans need to be accelerated.
> 
> Chloe loses her punk street cred... Again.
> 
> Rachel confesses something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> This chapter is a little shorter than I'd hoped, I'm having trouble finding natural breaks that fit with the events I have lined up so there may be a few more wonky chapter lengths coming up. Apologies for the blue-balling. :P
> 
> As always, let me know what you think. Enjoy! :)

**Pricefield - Time Warriors**

  
  


**Chapter 16: The Turbulence Before The Storm**

After causing everyone to groan at my terrible mini-speech, we decided to chill under the shade of one of the trees around the main campus while waiting for the lunch period to end.

A few minutes of blissful silence went by before Victoria picked her head up from Kate's lap and turned towards me. “Max, if you are serious about breaking into the Prescott's mansion, we'll need more than our handheld cameras if we're going to come up with a solid plan of attack. They have actual guards and shit.”

I rolled to the side and propped my head up with my hand to look at her. “Okay, well, what do you have in mind?”

Victoria raked a hand down her face and sighed. “Is there any chance we can borrow Brooke's drone? That thing would be perfect for taking aerial footage of the building and surrounding land.”

Chloe snorted next to me. “I highly doubt that's going to happen.”

Victoria raised her brow at me. “And why is that?”

I groaned. “Because she'll probably try to claw my eyes out the second I get close enough.”

Victoria frowned this time. “Again, why is that?”

Kate giggled. “Warren.”

Victoria rolled her eyes. “You've got to be fucking kidding me. Him? Still?”

I shrugged. “I did try to let him down gently and point him in her direction but I have no idea if he made a move yet. She probably still thinks he's trying to get into my pants.”

Rachel had to stifle her laugh. “Yeah, sucks for him. We all know the only person getting in those pants of your pants is Chloe.”

Chloe responded by punching her in the arm.

I just took it in my stride and ignored how hot my face felt, instead choosing to shoot back with, “Is that jealousy I hear in your voice, Rach? If you want to join us all you need to do is ask.”

Rachel smirked. “Temping offer, but no. With how much Chloe likes to eat, I doubt there would be enough for both of us, if you know what I mean.”

Chloe suddenly hunched over and burst into a coughing fit next to me. Rachel reached over to pat her on the back and sneakily shot me a wink.

I simply rolled my eyes at her and turned back to Victoria. “I'm willing to be clawed to death if there's even a tiny chance of borrowing Brooke's drone. It'd definitely be useful.”

Victoria nodded. “Lets go find her before lunch is over. Do you think she'll be in the cafeteria?”

I shrugged and lazily got to my feet. “Maybe. No harm in checking, I guess.”

Victoria stood up, followed by Kate.

I turned to Chloe and Rachel. “Are you two coming?”

Chloe slumped back against the tree, finally recovered from her coughing fit. “Probably not a good idea. It's already a miracle Wells didn't kick me off campus, I doubt he'd be thrilled to see me actually inside the school.”

Rachel groaned next to her. “Yeah, I don't want to risk being recognised by some random person either, so it's best if I stay out here too.”

I nodded. “Okay then. Behave yourselves. No funny business, understand?”

Chloe crossed her arms. “Sure, whatever you say mom.”

Rachel snickered. “I promise to keep my hands to myself, Max.”

I snorted in amusement, then headed inside with Victoria and Kate.

A minute later we were standing inside the packed cafeteria and glancing from student to student, trying to see if Brooke was still eating while ignoring the way everyone was looking at us.

I shook my head and turned to the others. “I don't think she's here, guys. We should probably check the dorms next, maybe she's in her room or something.”

Victoria huffed. “Sure, lead the way. I really hate being stared at like this.”

I heard a slight growl emitting from Kate and grinned as she promptly threw her arm around Victoria without a care in the world.

Taking that as my cue, I pushed open the cafeteria doors and we walked back out into the hallway.

We were almost at the front doors when someone called out for Victoria. We turned around to see Principal Wells peeking his head out of his office. He quickly stepped out and beckoned us over.

Once we were standing in-front of him, Victoria coughed out a, “What's up, sir?”

Principal Wells thrust his hands into his pockets. “I'm glad I caught you in person, it saves me having to send an email.”

Victoria raised an eyebrow questioningly.

Principal Wells cleared his throat, “Since our meeting ended so suddenly, I forgot to inform you about another condition I had. As I'm sure you are aware, Mr Jefferson was scheduled to announce the winner of the Everyday Heroes contest at the upcoming Vortex Club party tomorrow night. Now, despite the changes in management and the way the party is being conducted, I must insist that Mr Jefferson continues to announce the winner as previously planned. This is non-negotiable, considering whoever he declares the winner will be heading off to San Francisco the morning after the party. There's simply not enough time to change it.”

Victoria glanced at me with wide eyes.

I gulped and nodded to her.

Victoria turned her attention back to Principal Wells and took a breath before saying, “Very well, sir. Thank you for letting me know.”

Then she spun on her heel and practically dragged Kate and I back out the front doors.

Once we were clear, Victoria swore loudly. “I can't believe I forgot about that. How the fuck are we going to deal with it?”

I grimaced. “One thing at a time, Vic. The only thing that has changed is that we'll need to get all the information and evidence we can that ties the Prescott's or Jefferson to the Dark Room, along with that Black Market Ring, before the party happens. So now we definitely need Brooke's drone, because we're hitting the Prescott's tonight.”

Kate groaned, then speed-walked in the direction of the dorms, leaving us to catch up.

I spotted Chloe and Rachel looking our way, so I shouted over my shoulder, “No luck in the cafeteria, we're going to check the dorms!”

They nodded and laid back down on the grass while the three of us rushed off towards the dorms.

Thankfully, there was nobody in the dorm quad so we managed to get inside without being interrupted.

A few seconds later and we were standing in-front of Brooke's door.

I knocked and heard a shuffling coming from the other side.

The door opened and Brooke poked her head out.

She spotted me and immediately frowned. “What do you want?”

I winced. “Hey Brooke. We kinda need to borrow your drone for a bit... If that's okay?”

She raised and eyebrow and snorted. “Why the hell would I let you use my drone? What for?”

I struggled to come up with an answer but Victoria was quick on her feet. “We'd like to use it for Photography. I know your drone has a powerful camera, it's even better than the handheld ones I use. We want to try taking some aerial photos for our Photography Lab period. Do something different, you know?”

Brooke crossed her arms. “Okay, sure, I can understand that. But what makes you think I'd give it to you? Victoria, I'm still having a hard time believing the rumours that you've changed. Once a bully, always a bully. I don't trust you not to break the damn thing. As for you, Max...”

I huffed and cut her off. “For fuck sake, Brooke. I was a victim of Victoria's bullying, so was Kate. Yet here we both are hanging out with her because we believe that she wants to change, so lay off. And since I have a pretty good idea what you're going to say, you can stop being such a catty bitch with me while you're at it because I am not interested in Warren. I never was. I don't even swing that way. If you want Warren, go fucking get him instead of being jealous that he's always following me around like a lost puppy. I already tried pointing him in your direction, all you have to do is act on it.”

Brooke blinked for a moment. Then she suddenly slammed the door in our faces.

We stood there stunned for a few seconds. Just as we were about to leave, she opened the door again and shoved her drone into my arms, muttered a quick “Sorry.” and closed the door once more.

Brooke shouted through the door at us, “You better bring it back in one piece by tomorrow otherwise I will kill all three of you!”

I picked my jaw up off the floor long enough to shout back, “Thanks Brooke! Not a scratch, I promise!”

Then we turned and rushed off down the hallway before she could change her mind.

Only when we had gotten back to the main campus and met up with Chloe and Rachel again did anyone break the silence.

Kate spoke up first. “Well that was way easier than I thought.”

Chloe crossed her arms. “Why? What happened?”

I snorted. “I might have blown up on her a little bit. I thought for sure I'd have to rewind it, at-least. Apparently not.”

Victoria hummed. “Yeah. She slammed the door in our faces, then opened it and just gave the drone to us. Wasn't expecting that to happen.”

Rachel raised an eyebrow. “Elaborate please. Max, what did you say?”

I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. “I may have told her to stop being such a bitch, and that Warren is all hers if she could just leave me alone long enough to grab his attention instead.”

Chloe smirked. “I'm surprised she didn't stab you with a pencil, or something. She really just handed her drone over?”

I nodded. “Yep. She even said sorry.”

Rachel shrugged. “Nicely done, Max.” Then she looked up in thought for a moment before continuing, “Oh by the way, you didn't look very happy when you came out here from the cafeteria. Did we miss something?”

Victoria glanced at me and winced.

I sighed. “Principal Wells had one last surprise for us.”

Chloe huffed. “Let me guess, he found a way to kick me out of the Vortex Club?”

I rolled my eyes at her. “Worse. Jefferson will still be at the party tomorrow to announce the winner of the Everyday Heroes contest.”

Chloe let loose a string of curses.

Victoria clenched her fist in frustration. “You can say that again. I swore that nothing else would happen to the students at our parties but controlling the rate of alcohol and drug consumption doesn't do much when the drugging, kidnapping, murdering fucking psychopath himself is still attending.”

I stepped forward and nodded at her. “Which is why we are hitting the Prescott's tonight. Plan or no plan. We have to make sure everything is taken care of before the party so that we can turn the tables on Jefferson when he least expects it.”

Then bell to signal end of lunch rang.

I groaned. “Well, now us three have to endure listening to Jefferson for like five minutes, then we can go eat something in town before taking the drone for a ride over the Prescott's mansion. We'll be right back.”

As promised, five minutes later we were back outside and all piled into Chloe's truck, heading into town.

After lowering the deafening punk rock music blasting from the radio, Chloe spoke up. “So, where are we eating? Two Whales again?”

Rachel shook her head. “As much as I love Joyce's cooking, I'd rather not eat diner food three times in a row.”

Victoria leaned forward. “How about the Bean Hip Cafe?”

I hummed. “Not a bad place, I've been there a couple of times. It doesn't hold a candle to Joyce's cooking but they have some of the best coffee I've ever tasted, and we're probably going to need lots of it.”

Chloe grumbled under her breath. “A punk visiting a hipster coffee shop, there goes my street cred.”

Rachel snorted. “What street cred? I seem to recall you cried like a baby when we got our tattoos.”

Chloe glared at her. “What the fuck, Rach? You swore you'd take that to the grave.”

Rachel smirked. “Well, technically I did.”

I had to stifle my laugh. “She's got you there, Chloe.”

Chloe growled. “You assholes. Fine. We'll go to the stupid hippy coffee shop.”

A few minutes later, we arrived at the Bean Hip Cafe and went inside.

Chloe took one look at the walls and tried to back out the door in disgust. Unfortunately for her, Rachel and I were behind her and grabbed her arms. We had to physically drag her over to the front counter. Only then did she surrender to her fate and focus her attention on the menu rather than the garish hipster decoration.

As punishment for trying to run, we made her be the one to order our food and drinks. We told her what we wanted then left her standing at the counter while we went to find a booth.

Chloe found her way back to us a minute later, threw herself into the seat next to me and made fake gagging noises.

I playfully swatted her on the arm and pointed at the poster on the wall next to us, a blown up image of one of Jefferson's 'famous' photographs. “This is the one downside to coming here. These idiots advertise Jefferson's work.”

Victoria groaned. “Yeah. They even have an exhibition set up in the back, full of his work. I came here a lot when I was younger, it's one of the reasons I became such a big fan of him. What a fucking idiot I was.”

Kate reached over and put her hand on Victoria's. “Victoria, you couldn't have known. You do now, that's all that matters.”

Victoria sighed. “I know... But look at it-” She jerked a thumb towards the poster. “How could I not see that for what it really is? It's so disgustingly obvious that none of his models consented to those photos.”

Chloe glanced around the mostly empty cafe, then quickly ripped the poster from the wall. “The whole fucking world is going to know the truth soon enough. We'll make sure of that.”

Our food and drinks arrived then, and thankfully the person who delivered it didn't notice the missing poster.

We all breathed a sigh of relief as she walked away, then immediately dug into our meals.

The whole time we were eating, I couldn't help but keep glancing down at the torn poster which was lying crumpled in the corner next to me.

Once we were done with our food, I cleared my throat to get everyone's attention. “I know we're already planning on breaking into the Prescott's mansion, however since we've got no choice but to accelerate our timetable... Might I suggest we pay a visit to Jefferson's house as-well?”

Victoria raised an eyebrow. “When?”

I shrugged. “Right now. While Jefferson is stuck at Blackwell. It's basically a free period for us but I'm pretty sure he's got to stay at the school. So we get in, look for anything incriminating, then get out and rewind. Nothing to worry about. Nobody would know we were there and even if he notices anything missing, the party is tomorrow. Not enough time for him to do anything crazy.”

Chloe hummed. “What makes you think he'd keep anything at his house though? All the incriminating stuff is probably kept in the Dark Room.”

I nodded at her. “True. It's still worth a look, though. I want to be as thorough as possible, make sure we get everything that we can to nail these bastards to the wall. With my rewind, we can make it so almost no time has passed, leaving us with plenty left over for our Prescott drone scouting mission.”

Kate rubbed her face. “First thing's first, I don't suppose anyone knows where he actually lives?”

Victoria shook her head. “During all that time I was shamelessly thirsting after him, I never could get him to tell me.”

I spotted Rachel wincing out of the corner of my eye.

Rachel took a deep breath and mumbled, “I did. He lives right around the corner from here.”

The table went silent and watched as Rachel practically melted into the booth.

Chloe turned in her seat and reached out to put a hand on Rachel's arm. She flinched away.

Chloe sighed. “Rach, I'm not gonna hurt you. Look at me.”

Rachel just shook her head and curled in on herself.

Chloe huffed and reached out again, this time she gently grabbed her chin and guided her head up so that she could look into her eyes. They were full of tears, which Chloe swiped away.

Rachel choked back a sob. “I'm sorry, Chloe... It wasn't just Frank. I... I...-”

Chloe put a finger over her lips. “I know, Rach. I found that letter you wrote in the Junkyard ages ago, I just never wanted to believe it.”

Rachel hiccuped. “Then why aren't you angry with me?”

Chloe took a second to gather her thoughts before saying, “I can be angry over Frank, but not this. Even if you willingly cheated on me with Jefferson, you were still a victim in the end. He lured you in and killed you. I don't care that you cheated, only that you thought you couldn't tell me in person. I always told you the truth, I never lied to you. I just wish you could've done the same. We would've gotten through it, just like everything else.”

Rachel sobbed even harder at that, prompting Chloe to pull Rachel into a hug, where she cried into her shoulder.

Chloe glanced around and grimaced when she saw the rest of us watching. She wordlessly mouthed “Sorry.” at me, to which I just smiled sadly and shook my head.

It took several minutes for Rachel to calm down.

She sat back up and rubbed her face. “Fucking therapists would have a field day with all the shit us five have to unpack.”

I snorted and reached out to put my hand on the table. “We were all broken by Jefferson, one way or another. Who needs therapists when we have each other to make us stronger?”

Then I motioned for everyone to pile their hands over mine and continued. “However this shit ends, we will be there to take care of each other. No bullshit, just the truth and unconditional support. Deal?”

All four of them spoke in unison. “Deal.”

I nodded resolutely. “Good. Now lets go see what crap Jefferson has hidden in his house.”


	17. Home Invasion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A spur of the moment decision leads to the Time Warriors entering the lion's den.
> 
> They discover a secret that leaves them reeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> I don't want to jinx it, but here's another chapter, right on schedule!
> 
> As usual, let me know what you think. Enjoy! :)

**Pricefield - Time Warriors**

  
  


**Chapter 17: Home Invasion**

When Rachel said Jefferson lived right around the corner, I didn't think she meant it literally. So imagine my surprise when we followed her out of the Bean Hip Cafe, walked to the edge of the street and turned the corner, only to see her come to a stop after taking only a few steps further. It turns out, he really did live right around the corner. I suppose that explains why the Bean Hip Cafe 'proudly' displays his work all over their walls.

So, here we were standing in-front of Jefferson's house, which appeared just as nondescript and bland as every other house on the street.

I turned to Rachel and tilted my head towards the house. “Are you sure this is the right place, Rach?”

Rachel nodded and replied in an uncharacteristically small voice. “I'm sure, Max. I... uh, slept here more times than I'd like to admit. This is his place.”

Chloe looked up at the house and sneered. “Really? I was expecting a mansion or something, what with all the dirty money he's earned over the years from his disgusting photography. And here I thought my house was a boring shithole.”

I sighed. “It makes sense, Chloe. None of us saw him for who he really was until it was too late. He's a sneaky methodical psychopath. He obviously bought this house to blend in with everyone else rather than stand out like the Prescott's do.”

Victoria waved a hand in the direction of the house. “Well thank fuck he did. It's tiny compared to the Prescott's mansion. No guards either. This shouldn't take long at all.”

Kate hummed. “What about cameras? Do we need to worry about those?”

I shrugged at her. “Not really. If we're quick enough, it doesn't matter if Jefferson or anyone else sees us in there. Once we have anything we need, I'll rewind us all the way back here and we walk away like nothing happened. He can't catch us on camera if we were technically never there in the first place.”

Chloe snickered. “Super Max is also a super smart-ass now, huh?”

I smirked. “Bite me, Price.”

Chloe opened her mouth to retort but Rachel cut her off with a roll of her eyes. “You can bite each other later.” Then she took a step towards the house and continued, “Are we doing this or not?”

I raised an eyebrow at her questioningly. “Sure. What's our best way in? Break a window?”

Rachel motioned for us to follow her as she cautiously strolled towards the house. “No need for that when there should be a spare key lying around.”

Victoria frowned. “Seriously?”

Rachel nodded and nervously played with the feather dangling from her ear. “Like I said, I've been here more times than I want to admit.” Then she stepped over to a plant pot next to the door, tilted it off the ground and fished a key out from under it. “Gotcha.”

I stared at the key in her hand and scoffed. “Okay, for someone so methodical, that's the most generic hiding place for a spare key.”

Rachel glanced down at the key and shrugged at me. “Sucks for him, I guess.” Then she spun around and proceeded up to the front door and muttered over her shoulder, “Lets get this party started.” before she inserted the key, turned it and flung the door wide open.

Chloe immediately put her arm out to stop Rachel from entering and pulled David's revolver from her waistband. “I'm not taking any chances, Rach. Let me go first. You can give me directions, since you know this place so well.”

Rachel flinched as if she'd been slapped while Chloe crept across the threshold into the house, oblivious.

I stepped up next to Rachel and whispered in her ear, “She didn't mean it like that.”

Rachel nodded at me and exhaled slowly before following Chloe inside.

The rest of us filed in behind them and closed the front door.

Chloe went ahead to do a quick sweep of the ground floor while we all waited in the cramped hallway.

She returned a few seconds later and breathed a sight of relief. “All clear, guys. Seems the only way in is through the front door so I'll stay here and be on lookout, the rest of you can go hunting.”

Everyone silently nodded and we began to split up; Rachel and I headed upstairs while Kate and Victoria stayed downstairs and walked towards separate doors at the end of the hallway.

I leaned out over the stair banister before they could vanish behind the doors and called out, “If you guys find anything that might be useful, just take it so I can bring it with us when I rewind.” Then I ran up the stairs to catch up with Rachel.

I opened the first door I came across. Ah, the bathroom. I flicked the light switch and looked around. It was spotless. I quickly glanced inside the only cabinet in the room; there was nothing but generic bathroom supplies. I sighed, shut the cabinet and turned off the light before closing the bathroom door.

I headed towards the next door and promptly threw it open. Unfortunately, it was just a storage closet with nothing inside. I guess he doesn't need storage space when he has the Dark Room. I closed the door with a huff.

The last door upstairs was at the very end of the hallway and was sitting ajar. By process of elimination, I assume it's Jefferson's bedroom. Apparently Rachel went straight there. I cautiously stepped my way towards it and took a peek inside.

Rachel was stood in the middle of the room and seemed to be staring at Jefferson's bed. No, she was glaring at it. I blinked and looked closer. Rachel was repeatedly clenching and unclenching her fist in silence, but what caught my attention was the thing inside her fist. I watched with wide eyes as she uncurled her fingers once more to reveal what was unmistakably a bright orange flame in the palm of her hand, then she closed her fist again to snuff it out.

I side-stepped my way through the gap in the door and edged my way into the room as Rachel reopened her fist and let the flame sit still in her hand.

It was so fascinating that my mouth accidentally moved before my brain could catch up, accidentally muttering, “Hella Wowser.”

Rachel yelped and violently shook the hand holding the flame as she spun on her heel to face me. She had the look of a child who'd just been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

I held both my hands out in front of me in the universal gesture of 'it's okay' and coughed to clear my throat before speaking again. “Shit. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you. Are you okay?”

Rachel was still staring at me, wide-eyed with shock.

I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly and took a slight step forward. “Relax, Rach. I know this is probably not how you envisioned yourself proving that you have powers but you're looking at the one person who understands, after-all it was you that gave me my time powers, remember?”

Rachel finally blinked and raked a hand down her face. “I know, Max. But shit, you really wasn't supposed to see that. I'm not sure what I was even doing, to be honest.”

I moved to stand next to her and glanced towards Jefferson's bed. “I'm guessing you got lost in your memories of, uh, sleeping here?”

Rachel gave a single sharp nod. “Lets just say, when I wasn't sleeping at Chloe's, I slept here.” A look of utter revulsion flickered across her face and I swear I could feel the shiver running down her spine.

Eager to change the subject for both of us, I pointed at the hand she previously held the flame with. “So, uh... can you do it again?”

Rachel shrugged and casually lifted her hand so that I could see properly, then materialized a flame out of thin air, letting it sit and crackle in her palm.

I stared at it, transfixed for a moment before breathlessly exclaiming, “That's so fucking cool, Rach.”

Rachel smirked at me and extinguished the flame. “I'm glad you think so.”

I furrowed my brow slightly. “Does it hurt?”

Rachel held the hand up in-front of her and turned it over, inspecting it. After a moment she shook her head. “Nope. When I summon my powers like that, it doesn't hurt at all. I know I'm not, you know, fireproof or anything like that though, so if I actually used my power and set something on fire, that'd still burn me. It's just the power activation that doesn't affect me.”

I nodded and without thinking, I grabbed hold of her hand, only realizing how stupid that was after I'd already done it.

I hummed in surprise. “Huh. Your hand doesn't even feel like it just had a literal ball of fire held in it. It's not even warm.”

Rachel snorted. “Good. Chloe would kill me if I accidentally burned you with my powers.”

I rolled my eyes at her before letting go of her hand and looking around the bedroom. “Jefferson sure likes to keep things neat and tidy, doesn't he? It doesn't seem like there'll be any evidence hidden in here but lets check anyway.”

Rachel nodded and started rummaging through his dresser.

I stepped over to his wardrobe and muttered under my breath, “I wonder if you're keeping any skeletons in here.” then flung it wide open. Alas, no skeletons. Just a crazy amount of suits and shirts. Are those literally all he wears?

I closed the wardrobe in disgust and spoke over my shoulder, “Anything on your end?”

Rachel slammed the dresser shut and stood up with a groan. “Nothing.”

I sighed and headed over to the last thing in the room; the bedside table. The only thing standing on top was a lamp and an alarm clock. How boring. I pulled open the drawer and was pleasantly surprised to find something in it.

Upon seeing the contents, I chuckled to myself and reached inside to grab it.

Hearing me laughing, Rachel came over. “I don't suppose he's hiding a dildo in there, is he?”

I snorted. “Sadly not. I got something better, though.” Then withdrew the item and held it up for her to see.

Rachel raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? Another one? How many fucking guns does he need?”

I giggled to myself while I turned the pistol over in my hands and examined it. “Clearly he's overcompensating for something. Oh well. Apparently, we've got four guns now.” Then I turned to Rachel and offered the pistol to her. “Here, you can have this one. It's only fitting you get to keep the one in Jefferson's house.”

Rachel nodded and took the pistol from me. I raised my eyebrow in surprise as she swiftly released the magazine to see that it was fully loaded before replacing it and ensuring the safety was on.

She saw the look on my face while she was tucking it into her waistband. “Yes, I know how to use a gun, Max. Before I knew that my dad was a massive asshole, he made sure that I knew how to use and shoot one. He is the District Attorney after-all. I had to be prepared just in-case someone came looking for revenge or whatever.”

I grinned at her. “I see. Well, Chloe thinks she's a hot-shot but if we're ever in a shoot-out then I know who to hide behind.”

Rachel smiled. “Don't tell Chloe that, she'll get jeal-”

She was cut off by the sound of Chloe herself shouting from downstairs, “Max, Rach, get down here. Victoria found something you're gonna want to see!”

We both sprinted out of Jefferson's bedroom, back through the hallway and down the stairs in record time.

Once we were on the ground floor, Chloe beckoned us to follow her. She led us through a door at the far end of the hallway where Victoria and Kate were waiting for us.

I glanced around to see that we were now standing inside a room that Jefferson must be using as an office. The room was clean just like everywhere else in the house that I'd seen so far. His office desk was also lacking a computer though, so if I had to guess, he must be using a laptop that he took with him to Blackwell.

I raised an eyebrow at Victoria, who was standing near a bookcase that was apparently full of books relating to photography, no surprise there. “So, you found... an empty office?”

Victoria snorted. “Yes. However all these photography books caught my eye, obviously, and... well, they're all dusty. Except for this one right here.” She pointed at a random book located right in the middle of the bookshelf and pulled it out before continuing, “It was hiding a hole in the back of the bookshelf, see? Kate dared me to put my hand in, and when I did, I could feel some kind of switch hidden back there. I wanted to wait for you guys before pressing it.”

I hummed. “Well we're here now, so go ahead Vic. Lets see what he's hiding.”

Victoria nodded, then carefully reached in through the hole in the bookshelf and felt around for a moment before flicking the hidden switch.

As soon as she pressed it, an audible thunk came from somewhere underneath us.

I glanced down at the floor to see nothing, except for a rug that took up the majority of the floorspace.

I rolled my eyes. “It's under the rug. Help me pull it back, guys.”

Everyone grouped up at one side of the room and together we started rolling it up. Once it was out of the way, we could see what was very clearly a trapdoor sitting in the middle of the room.

I glanced at Chloe and audibly gulped. “I'm suddenly feeling a wave of deja-vu...”

Chloe frowned at the trapdoor. “Yeah.” Then she huffed and bent down to try lifting it.

The trapdoor came loose fairly easily. It seemed to be unlocked, presumably because of the hidden switch.

Once she had opened it all the way, I glanced at the hole only to see a familiar set of steps leading down.

I inhaled sharply. “Please tell me this is not another Dark Room.”

Chloe growled and held David's revolver at the ready. “Only one way to find out. Stay behind me everyone.” Then she began to slowly descend the steps with the rest of us in tow.

Unlike the Dark Room at the Prescott's Barn, whatever this was didn't have a corridor at the bottom of the stairs, just a door. Thankfully that too was also just a generic looking wooden door similar to the rest of the doors in Jefferson's house; no keypad-locked vault door to worry about this time.

Chloe kicked open the door into total darkness. She felt around for a moment before finding a light switch and pressing it.

Whatever the lights illuminated made Chloe freeze in her tracks and exclaim, “No fucking way.”

I squeezed past her to poke my head into the room. What I saw caused my blood to boil. “What... the fuck.”

The others tried pushing through to get a look inside but Chloe and I spun around and blocked the doorway.

I coughed and cleared my throat, glancing at Kate. “You, uh, don't want to go in there. Trust me, guys.”

Kate furrowed her brow. “Why not?”

Rachel frowned next to her. “Yeah, why not?”

The pleading look Chloe gave Rachel then made her retract her frown instantly. “Because Rach, we've just stumbled across what appears to be Jefferson's... personal collection.”

Victoria stepped forward slightly and glanced between Kate and Rachel before turning to us. “The Dark Room victims?”

Chloe nodded stiffly.

I watched as Kate went pale. “We're in there, aren't we?”

It was my turn to nod, albeit reluctantly.

I turned to look at Rachel. She was blinking slowly with a far-away look on her face as she tried to comprehend what that meant. Then suddenly her head snapped up and I could see the fire raging in her eyes. Before Chloe and I could stop her, she shoved her way between us and stormed off into the room.

Chloe immediately turned and ran after her. “Rach, wait!”

Kate turned to Victoria and muttered, “I have to see this.”

Victoria furrowed her brow. “Are you sure?” When Kate nodded, she continued, “Then I'm not letting you do it alone.”

I quickly glanced at Kate. “You don't have to do this, Kate.”

Kate looked up at me and exhaled slowly. “Yes I do, Max. Let us through.”

Realizing I couldn't guard the door against both of them, I resigned myself to stepping aside.

Kate walked forward and got as far as the doorway before hesitating. Victoria offered her hand for support, which Kate eagerly accepted. Then they stepped inside together.

I simply sighed and steeled myself before following them.

Now that I was in the room properly, I looked around and had to force down the overwhelming urge to be sick. The walls were covered in blown up photos of random Dark Room victims, each posed in various different ways on the tell-tale white backdrop. It was like his own personal perverse gallery. Upon closer inspection, the photos appeared to be separated into segments dedicated to each victim. Judging from all the photos, there were way more victims than just the ones with binders in the Dark Room. This was almost like Jefferson was displaying a timeline of all his victims, or at the very least showing off those who gave him the best 'session' results. I followed the makeshift timeline along and came across everyone else crowded around the far right side, presumably where the most recent victims were. Most recent being Rachel and Kate.

I slowly made my way towards them, really not wanting to see either of them like that again. Once I was close enough to see over their heads, I noticed that Kate's section was fairly small but crammed full with photos, though thankfully most of them appeared to be repeated shots of the same pose, just at a different angle. Nothing new stood out compared to what I'd already seen in her Dark Room binder. She was only down there for one night so I suppose he could only do so much.

Rachel's section just before that, however, was absolutely massive compared to every other victim on the wall. Each photo seemed to be placed deliberately, framed as a perfect trophy in his sick mind. Three months of 'sessions' in the Dark Room displayed on the wall for Jefferson to relive whenever he wanted. I could practically see the passage of time in each subsequent photograph as the toll on Rachel's care-free spirit got progressively worse. It was horrifying to look at.

I turned to glance at Chloe and I could see she was torn between the urge to comfort Rachel and her instinct to guard the entrance. I caught her eye and nodded towards the door, deciding to comfort Rachel in her place.

I stepped up next to Rachel and realized that she was looking at a part of the wall that I couldn't see before because of the angle. She was looking at the very beginning of her wall section. I looked closer and soon understood why; unlike every other photo on the walls, these ones were not taken in the Dark Room. They appeared to be taken right here in Jefferson's house. Some were of Rachel posing for the camera under her own free will, presumably the times when he offered her a free photo-shoot or whatever. Others appeared to be more... intimate, if that was even possible, where Rachel was posing in Jefferson's bedroom upstairs. More than a few seemed to be taken while she was asleep in his bed, completely unaware of how much of a psychopathic creep he was. As far as I could tell, this was a whole new level of depravity that he hadn't shown towards any of his other victims. It was utterly disgusting.

I was pulled from my thoughts by Rachel muttering under her breath, “I want to burn this whole fucking house down.”

I immediately grabbed hold of her hand to comfort her. “You're not the only one, Rach. As much as I'd love nothing more than to see all this go up in flames, we need to keep it intact. If the police find this, Jefferson is completely boned; this room can link him to the Dark Room, and apparently way, way more.”

Rachel blinked, then nodded reluctantly before pointing at one of the photos where she posed willingly for Jefferson and spoke in a broken whisper, “Look at this, Max. I was so fucking stupid. I can't believe I was dumb enough to believe that he actually... loved me. I fell right into his hands and never knew it until it was too late.”

I stroked my thumb across the back of her hand. “In his own perverted way, I think he did love you. He didn't do anything like this with any of his other victims. They are all taken straight to the Dark Room, posed and then discarded. You are the only one he seemed to play the long game with, but like all the others, it way only a matter of time until his corrupted mind decided to take his obsession further. He loved you until his urge to capture your innocence won out.”

A look of revulsion flashed across her face. “Just when I thought I couldn't feel any worse.”

I pulled her into a hug and apologized. “Sorry, Rach. I did say earlier that there'd be no more bullshit, just the truth. I mean, I could be wrong of-course, but the way he talked about you when I was trapped in the Dark Room makes me think he at-least felt... something different towards you.”

Rachel nodded into my shoulder before pulling away.

I turned to glance back around the room and frowned. “I think it might be a good idea for me to take photos of all this crap, so there's evidence that it exists, just in-case anything happens.” Then I pulled out my Polaroid camera and nodded at Rachel's spot on the wall before continuing, “Are you okay with that?”

Rachel blinked for a moment, then smiled sadly. “Go right ahead, Max.” She looked at the other victims on the wall nearby. “We'll make sure to get justice for every person displayed on this wall. If I have to suffer for that, so be it. Fuck Jefferson.”

I carefully lined up my camera to capture every photo of Rachel on the wall, then took the shot. While the photo was developing, I smirked. “Fuck Jefferson.”

Then I proceeded to snap photo after photo of every victim's spot on the wall from left to right, so that I had the whole timeline captured from start to finish.

The final photo I had to take was of Kate's section. She was sobbing into Victoria's shoulder but looked up when I got near.

I gave her a weak smile and pointed at her photos. “Kate, can I get your permission to take a photo for evidence?”

Kate sniffed loudly and glared up at the photos on the wall. “Permission granted, Max. Take all the photos you need, as long as he burns in hell for eternity, I don't care.”

I nodded and took the final picture.

Once it was developed and safely tucked away into my back, I stepped back and called out to get everyone's attention. “I think it's time to go, guys. We don't want to overstay out welcome and get caught, do we?”

Victoria, Kate and Rachel reluctantly made their way over to me, and together we walked out of the room where Chloe was still standing guard.

I quickly turned to her and muttered, “I took pictures for evidence, we're all done here.”

She nodded and swiftly led the way back up the stairs into Jefferson's crappy little office.

There were no surprises waiting for us, thankfully, so once we were all out we closed the trapdoor while Victoria reached back behind the bookshelf to flick the switch again which locked the trapdoor in place. Then we uncurled the rug back over it as Victoria placed the secret book back on the shelf to cover the hidden hole. We double-checked to make sure nothing was out of place, then rushed down the hallway and out the front door before we could get caught. We made sure to run all the way back around the street corner towards the Bean Hip Cafe before stopping to catch our breath.

I groaned before turning to face the others. “Okay everyone, link hands and don't let go. You know the drill by now.”

Once they were all holding hands, Chloe slipped hers into my left hand to complete the chain. Then I held up my right hand, nodded at everyone to be ready, and yanked hard on time. Rewinding everything we just did would've been painful if not impossible on my own but since I had four other people to draw energy from and share any pain with, it was actually fairly easily. Time flowed by without any resistance whatsoever and before I knew it, we'd already hit the point where our past selves had just reversed around the corner and begun the walk towards Jefferson's house. I slowed my hold on time and waited until they got as close to us as possible so that it wouldn't be incredibly obvious that we'd just teleported halfway across the street, then I released the rewind.

Everyone immediately unlinked their hands and started gulping down fresh air.

I cleared my throat. “You guys okay?” When they all nodded at me, I jabbed a thumb over my shoulder towards the Bean Hip Cafe, “While we're here, lets grab some more coffee to go, then we can start scouting out the Prescott's mansion.”

Rachel snorted. “I think I could use something stronger than coffee.”

Kate hummed. “You're not the only one, honestly.”

I rolled my eyes at them. “Under normal circumstances, I'd agree with you. But I think it's probably best if we all stay sober for what's coming, you know?”

They groaned but reluctantly agreed.

Now all we had to do was convince Chloe to walk back into hipster hell again...


	18. Aerial Photography

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Time Warriors begin their recon mission.
> 
> Jefferson's hold over the Junkyard diminishes.
> 
> Max comes up with a new plan.
> 
> Rachel finally shows off her abilities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I have finally returned from my extended hibernation.
> 
> Happy 4th of July to you Americans, and also to my fellow Brits who now apparently have their own reason to celebrate 4th of July, which is probably named 'National Yay The Pubs Are Open Again Day'.
> 
> I briefly mentioned on the LIS Subreddit a couple of times why I haven't posted anything new in so long, but for those who didn't see, basically it boils down to being locked in my house for months due to COVID, on top of my already severe anxiety and depression, which made me way too stressed out to write. It's not like I would've left my house normally, but the fact that COVID pretty much ramped my anxiety levels up to eleven meant that I no longer even had the option to do so, and not having the illusion of choice really messed me up. But now that the UK is relaxing restrictions to the point where pubs are open again (even if I think that's stupid), it's given the people I'm living with a reason to leave the house, meaning that my mental health can start to breathe a little while they're gone. These last seven months have not been fun at all.
> 
> Anyways, this chapter was pieced together from the few times I felt like writing these past months so I apologize if the beginning seems a little rusty. Now, I can't say when the next chapter will arrive other than that I am already in the process of writing it so it will come at some point, and I have now figured out exactly how I want to rest of the fic to go, it's literally just a matter of writing it out in a coherent and readable way so rest assured that this fic will be completed eventually, just like I promised. Speaking of which, I realized it's going to be the one year anniversary of this fic in a few weeks and it'd be kinda nice to wrap things up by then, though that's just a personal pipe-dream and probably isn't going to happen with the terrible luck I have.
> 
> As usual, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please do leave your thoughts and feedback, it's always much appreciated! :)

**Pricefield - Time Warriors**

  
  


**Chapter 18: Aerial Photography**

We eventually managed to talk Chloe into re-entering the Bean Hip Cafe despite her vehement protest against it. The winning argument? That she'd already been 'corrupted' by the hipster-ness after her first trip inside so she had no reason to continue fighting her one-woman war against hipster land.

As everyone else went in ahead of us, I casually turned to Chloe and whispered, “Besides, I'm one of them. You can't fight me and want to fuck me at the same time, that's cheating. Pick one.”

Then I speed-walked inside with the others, leaving Chloe to comically trip over her own feet in surprise.

I was standing at the counter with Victoria when Chloe snuck up on me and dug her fingers into my ribs, growling, “Max you little shit, you can't just say things like that and get away with it.”

I yelped and squirmed out of her hands before she could get a good grip, then spun around to face her with a smirk on my face. “Well, you coming in here clearly means you chose, didn't you? So no fighting allowed any-more, Chloe. Or else.” Then I winked at her.

Chloe slowly lowered her outstretched hands, grumbled to herself and turned away in a futile effort to hide her blush. Too bad it extended to her ears.

When I turned back to the counter, Victoria was staring at me.

I crossed my arms defensively. “What?”

She raised an eyebrow curiously. “Do I even want to know what that was about?”

I giggled slightly. “Nope.”

She raised her other eyebrow in response. “Already bossing your lapdog around, huh Maxine?”

I smiled innocently at her before dead-panning, “I imagine Kate has me beaten when it comes to that, Vic. Has she taught you any new tricks yet?”

Victoria opened her mouth to respond before my implication sunk in, then she promptly snapped her jaw shut and glared at me silently for the rest of the time that we were waiting at the counter.

The person at the counter was finally free to take our orders and started their little welcome-speech routine before abruptly stopping mid-sentence when they realized it was us. “Oh. Back so soon? I know we're good, but damn.”

I blinked at them in confusion for a moment before remembering we'd rewound to the point where we'd just left the cafe. I cleared my throat awkwardly and replied, “Uh, yeah. Well, we figured we'd just get another round of coffee's to go. We've got lots to do and not a lot of energy to do it with.”

They nodded in understanding and proceeded to take our orders without any further questions.

We left the Bean Hip Cafe each holding two large to-go cups of coffee. Except Kate, who opted for tea instead in an effort to calm her nerves after what we'd just seen and for what we were about to do.

Once we were all squashed into the truck and the drinks were safely stored away, we set off towards the Prescott's mansion, their very own fortress of doom, located on the outskirts of town, ominously overlooking the rest of Arcadia Bay clearly as a way to show off the fact that they damn-near own the town at this point and they wanted everyone to know it. _“Well, not for much longer, you assholes.”_ I thought to myself in disgust.

Eventually we arrived at the bottom of the path, which split off from the main road and snaked it's way further uphill towards the Prescott's front gate.

After Chloe had shut off the engine, Victoria spoke up. “It's probably a good idea to walk the rest of the way. We don't want to be spotted by the guards, and the trees over there go all the way up to the fences.”

Rachel hummed in agreement. “If I remember correctly from the few times Nathan used to invite me over here, there's also a slightly higher patch of land on the left side which should give us a nice vantage point too.”

Kate cleared her throat to get my attention. “What's the plan if someone sees us?”

I shrugged. “Rewind and run, I suppose? Or even better, just don't get seen at all.” Then I stuck my tongue out at her, to which she simply rolled her eyes in response.

Chloe sighed before throwing open the driver's side door then grabbed her share of the drinks we'd ordered from the Bean Hip Cafe and exited the truck, prompting the rest of us to do the same.

The walk through the densely packed trees was eerily quiet, there were no animals to be seen; no birds, no Doe, nobody except the five of us silently making our way towards Arcadia Bay's most hated family's mansion.

After several long minutes of walking, and extensive grumbling from Chloe, we managed to find the little area that Rachel had mentioned and decided to 'set up camp' at the top. It turns out Rachel was right, we could see quite a lot of the mansion and the outside area around it through the treeline, which also kept us relatively hidden from view.

Chloe snorted. “Jeez, do they really need that much grass on the outside? Most of that lawn probably doesn't even get walked on. I feel sorry for the gardeners who have to slave away mowing that whole thing, most likely under the threat of execution if they screw up, knowing the Prescott's.”

Victoria nodded and pointed towards a huge separate building at the back-side of the mansion. “See that thing? That's where all the outside staff sleep. All the cooks, gardeners, janitors, and whoever else they hire all have to live on the mansion grounds. Separated from the Prescott's, of-course.”

Kate scoffed exasperatedly. “That thing looks bigger than the Blackwell dorms. Do they really need that much 'help' for, what, three of them?”

Victoria shrugged. “The only people who live there now is Nathan's mother and father. Well, and Nathan when he's not staying at his dorm, I suppose. Kristine is still away in South America, and I doubt she's in a hurry to return to her fucked-up family anytime soon. Other than that, they do sometimes host influential guests, business clients, that sort of thing.”

Rachel smirked. “What she means to say, Kate, is that yes, the Prescott's are indeed overcompensating for something.”

Kate blinked for a moment before responding. “Yeah, I'd rather not think about that, thanks.”

Taking that as my cue, I decided to open my bag and carefully pulled out Brooke's drone. “So, uh... who here is the best at flying one of these things?”

Chloe immediately raised her hand, which was promptly slapped back down by Rachel.

I stifled a laugh. “Chloe, I'm sorry but I agree with Rachel here, do you _want_ Brooke to murder me in my sleep? There's no way I'm letting you fly the drone.

Chloe slumped back into a sitting position and fake-pouted at me.

I turned my attention to the others. “Anyone else?”

Victoria huffed. “Well, I at-least know how to handle expensive equipment, so I am _probably_ the least likely to break the drone, but I have no idea how to actually fly one.”

I hummed. “I did manage to get Brooke to let me fly it once in the original timeline so I know the basics. Do you want me to teach you?”

Victoria shrugged. “Sure. What's the worst that could happen?” Then she nonchalantly scooted over to sit beside me.

A quick crash(less) course later, and Victoria decided she was ready to give the scouting mission a shot.

Once everyone else had crowded around us to watch the camera feed on the tablet, and Kate had taken out a pen and paper to take notes, Victoria slowly lifted the drone off the ground and carefully raised it through the trees until it breached the canopy above. She flew it a little higher to make sure it wouldn't be spotted, then took it closer towards the front gate so that we could take photos of the guard positions and note down the patrol routes.

From what we could see, there appeared to be five guards stationed at the front gate; two of them on the outside standing at either side of the gate, then two more on the inside doing the same, with the last guard standing further away and periodically sweeping the front grounds with a flash-light for anyone who decided to climb the fence instead. Victoria took several photos with the drone's high-resolution camera before being rudely interrupted as Chloe suddenly sucked air in through her teeth upon noticing that the guards were all armed.

Chloe glanced in my direction before asking, “How are we going to get past these guys? I mean, they've got pistols. Funnily enough, so do we, but we're obviously not going in guns-blazing, right Max?”

I shuddered at the thought of that. “Considering how I reacted to, uh... shooting Jefferson, of all people, I don't think I'm prepared to shoot what are basically just hired goons, even if I can rewind it all away. They aren't the Prescott's, so we have no issue with them anyway. If push comes to shove we might have no choice but... no, I'll figure something out.”

Chloe promptly threw her arm around me for comfort, while Victoria rolled her eyes and moved the drone to observe the rest of the mansion grounds.

There seemed to be just one way into the area, which was the front gate. Everywhere else was fenced off. No doubt the Prescott's would have some kind of secret panic room and escape tunnel, though. There were several guards patrolling the rest of the perimeter fencing but they were unlikely to be a problem. The real issue would be the guards stationed outside the front and back entrances to the mansion itself. Similarly, a couple of guards were protecting the worker housing but thanks to Victoria and Rachel we knew (obviously) that Sean Prescott's study was deep inside the mansion, so they could be safely ignored. Victoria took a bunch more photos of the guards' positions at each of the doors.

She then did one last circle around the area so we could note down the Prescott's camera locations; there was one mounted on the front gate facing outwards and one facing inwards, one above the worker housing entrance, one on all four corners of the mansion and one above the front and back entrances to it. Once Kate had everything noted down, and Victoria had snapped a couple more pictures for good measure, she returned the drone back to where we were, going slowly so that she didn't accidentally crash into a tree branch and cause Brooke to disembowel me with her claws.

With the drone safely landed, we quickly decided we'd encroached on the enemy territory for long enough and swiftly packed the drone back into my bag and sneaked our way back down the hillside to where the truck was parked.

Once we were all back inside the truck, Chloe turned to me and asked, “So, what now?”

I hummed in thought for a moment. “I don't think they noticed us or the drone flying overhead, so there's not much point in rewinding our presence away.” Then I pulled out my phone to check the time before continuing, “We'll still have like 45 minutes left to take actual photos for Photography class once we get back to town so I'm not really bothered where we go next.”

Rachel leaned over to look at Chloe before speaking up, unease clear in her voice. “We could... go back to our spot?”

Chloe raised an eyebrow in response. “You really want to go back there, Rach?”

I spotted Rachel start to subconsciously scratch at her wrist and promptly grabbed her hand before gently saying, “If she feels up to it, then I am too.”

Chloe raised her other eyebrow at that, and just stared at both of us in disbelief. “You too, Max? Seriously?”

I just shrugged at her. “We gotta heal somehow.”

Chloe opened her mouth to argue but Rachel got there first. “Chloe, that is our spot. Ours. He took so much from all of us already, like fuck am I letting him take that too. PTSD be damned.”

Chloe simply raked a hand down her face and muttered, “This is such a bad fucking idea...” before starting the truck and driving off back towards town.

Eventually, we arrived at the Junkyard and rolled to a stop in-front of the 'American Rust' sign.

Chloe turned off the engine with a heavy sigh and turned to look at Rachel and I. “Are you guys sure about this?”

Rachel nodded silently, while I stared out at the Junkyard ahead of us and noticed how the entire area now had a perpetual air of ominous creepiness to it, despite still being daytime. I shook my head clear and spoke up, “Only one way to find out, Chloe.”

Rachel threw open the door and swiftly exited the truck, causing me to swallow my own worries and follow her out, along with everyone else. She managed to walk as far as the sign before abruptly stopping in her tracks.

I stepped up beside her, grabbed hold of her hand and whispered, “We'll do it together, okay?”

Rachel glanced at me and squeezed my hand in appreciation. Then we slowly walked in unison further into the Junkyard, while Chloe turned to Kate and Victoria before asking, “Is this your first time here?”

Victoria groaned. “I made the mistake of attending one of the old Vortex Club parties that used to be hosted here. Lets just say I swore to never step foot in this pile of trash again.”

Chloe smirked. “And yet here you are, Victoria.”

Kate giggled at Victoria as she grumbled under her breath. “Well, this is definitely my first time coming here. It isn't the kind of place I would've normally visited, but I can see why you'd spend time here, it seems very peaceful.”

Rachel scoffed next to me. “It used to be.”

I gently bumped her shoulder with mine. “And it will be again.”

Chloe sighed. “If we're really doing this, let's at-least try to make sure Kate feels at home here, just like we did.”

At this point we'd walked right through the middle of the Junkyard and reached the end where the paths branched off to either side, towards the hideout or Rachel's supposed grave. However I was too busy staring at the train tracks ahead of us and was only vaguely aware of Chloe asking, “So which one do you guys want to handle first, the good or bad?”

I felt Rachel shrug next to me, and then blinked as she waved her hand in-front of my face to snap my attention back to reality. “Max? Are you okay?”

Chloe noticed where I was looking and instantly put it together. “Fuck! The train. Shit, sorry Max, I should've realised that.”

I violently shook my head to get rid of the horrifying images of Chloe being shredded multiple times by the train. “It's okay, Chloe. I'm fine. Well, I'm not, but... I'll be okay. Where do you want to go next, Rach?”

Rachel hummed and glanced to her left, over towards the other end of the bus where her grave would've been. “You kinda just faced your moment there so I think it's only fair if I face mine.”

Then she attempted to walk off towards the grave, prompting me to tighten my hold on her hand and yank her back. “Don't force it Rach, you don't have to do it just because I hit one of my triggers. Only if you're sure.”

Rachel took a slow breath and smiled slightly. “It's alright, I'm sure. I just want to get this over with.”

I nodded at her and together we began to make our way towards what was supposed to be Rachel's grave.

As we got closer, I noticed that the area where the grave was meant to be was completely messed up, with a very shallow hole in the ground exposed. I felt Rachel shudder next to me, as she muttered, “I literally had to dig my way out of there. It was terrifying. Well, for the other me anyway. I didn't do it myself but I have her memories of doing it, so... it's the same thing, really.”

I squeezed her hand in reassurance. “I'm so sorry, Rach. I can't even imagine what that must've been like for you.”

Rachel shook her head. “Don't be sorry. I wouldn't have survived in the first place if it wasn't for you.”

I sighed. “Yeah... meanwhile, this is the exact spot that Chloe and I walked into Jefferson's fucking trap.”

Then I made the mistake of looking down at the grave again, only to see Chloe laying motionless on top of it with a bullet wound in her forehead. I frustratedly rubbed my eyes to get rid of it while growling, “This is where he fucking murdered Chloe. As a final insult, she fell right... on top of your dead body.”

Rachel suddenly turned and crushed me in a hug. “I'm sorry Max. That's Hella fucked up.”

I tried and failed to repress a sob. “It's like the universe was taunting my failures, you both died in your favourite place.”

At this point, Chloe had overheard our conversation and promptly came over to hug me from behind and gently muttered in my ear, “You didn't fail, Max. We are both here. Kate's here. Victoria's here. We are all alive because of you.”

I sniffled. “Yeah, unless I fail again.”

Kate and Victoria had wandered over now, with Kate being the first to speak. “You won't. I believe in you, Max.”

I smiled weakly at her. “Thanks, but... what if I do fail? I don't want any of you to go through what happened last time.”

Victoria stepped into my field of view and pointedly glared at me. “Then I suggest that you make sure you _don't_ fail, otherwise I'll kick your ass from the afterlife, Maxine.”

I snorted at that, and wriggled out of the group hug before staring down at Rachel's former grave with my mind spinning up the start of a new plan.

Before I could make a decision on said plan, I was interrupted by Rachel shushing everyone and nudging me with her arm. I turned to look at her and saw that she was pointing towards the little hilly spot to our right. I followed her gaze and saw a Doe cautiously stepping out into the clearing. I turned towards the others incredulously and muttered, “Wait, you guys can see it?”

Rachel silently rolled her eyes and whispered, “Yes we can, Max. It seems your spirit animal has come to visit you on it's own, unlike when I forced it to appear in the old timeline.” Then she turned to the others and made a 'shooing' motion with her hands, telling them to back off.

As they retreated further away, the Doe crept closer to Rachel and I, staring at me as it went.

I was too speechless to say anything at the moment, so Rachel cleared her throat.

The Doe's attention snapped straight to Rachel the instant she opened her mouth, staring at her with unblinking eyes while it's ears pricked up.

Rachel spoke with unease clear in her voice. “I want you to know that I'm sorry for what I did to you before. I hope you understand my reasons.”

The Doe blinked once, twice, then cocked it's head to the side as if it was considering her words. Suddenly, a Raven darted out of the trees and flew overhead, cawing violently as it went.

Rachel looked up at it transfixed and watched as it flew away before turning back to the Doe and bowing her head slightly, with the Doe doing the same in return. Then she turned back to me and muttered, “It understands what I did was necessary but it's not happy. It wants me to leave, not that I can blame it.”

I frowned at her in response. “Wait, you spoke to it?” Rachel hummed mysteriously but said nothing so I continued, “Well then, what am I supposed to do?”

Rachel sighed quietly. “It's here for a reason, Max. Whatever it is, I think you know. I'll see you back at the Hideout when you're done.”

Then she turned and walked away without a backwards glance, leaving me face to face with my very own spirit animal, this time in the flesh. It actually walked close enough for me to be able to touch it, and not knowing what else to do, I slowly reached out with my hand to indicate my intention. The Doe seemed to understand, and lowered it's head so that I could stroke it.

I didn't have any idea what I was supposed to say, so I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “You know, Rachel isn't as bad as she seems once you get to know her.”

The Doe glanced up at me, then suddenly snapped it's attention to somewhere on the other side of the Junkyard, where another loud caw erupted from the trees. Seemingly out of nowhere I got the very distinct impression that it was the same Raven that flew overhead before, and realized that it must've been Rachel's spirit animal. Whatever that was supposed to mean, I still had no idea.

Then the Doe started kicking at the dirt, presumably indicating that it was getting impatient. I turned my attention back to why it was here and looked down at Rachel's old grave before asking, “Is that why you're here? Should I do it? Will it even work?”

The Doe looked down at the grave and cocked it's head again in consideration. Then it stared off into the distance before turning back to me and bowing. It was at that moment that I just knew my plan would work, though it wouldn't be without obstacles... whatever that meant. Why did this have to be so cryptic?

I started stroking the Doe again and muttered, “Thank you.”

In return the Doe nuzzled my hand slightly before backing away and staring at me once more. I had the sudden itch to take a photo and silently wondered if it would let me, to which the Doe simply bowed it's head again. I was surprised that it seemed to know what I thought, but that was quickly overridden by my photographer's instincts kicking in and I soon had the Doe lined up perfectly with the sun in the background before snapping a picture. I tucked the photo and camera into my bag, then I bowed my head back at the Doe in appreciation.

The Doe pawed at the ground once more before turning to leave, and I could've sworn I saw it wink at me before galloping off back up the hill and into the forest, though I was probably imagining it.

I stood there for a solid minute, still shocked from the unexpected encounter with my spirit animal, before I stumbled off towards the Hideout with my mind racing. It wasn't until I felt myself being dragged by the arm to sit down that I managed to pull my attention back to the present, where everyone was now staring at me with mixed worry and curiosity.

Rachel whispered into my ear, “You okay there, Max?”

I blinked several times before nodding slightly. “I think so, yeah. I just... Wowser.”

Everyone burst out laughing and just like that, the awkward tension was broken.

Chloe kicked her feet up onto the table and smirked at me. “So, you spoke to your spirit animal, huh? I didn't even think those things were real.”

Rachel rolled her eyes. “Yeah well, yours is a Butterfly. Which basically stands for change and rebirth. What's a more literal interpretation of that than you?”

Chloe snorted. “Says the girl who also came back from the dead. But, well, that explains a lot. I bet it's the same fucker that flew into the bathroom when I got shot by Nathan. What was it there to do then, get off watching me die? Or was it there to warn me? Because it did a shitty job of that.”

Rachel shrugged and opened her mouth to answer but I interrupted her with, “Rachel, am I right in guessing yours is a Raven?”

Rachel's face immediately soured. “Yes, unfortunately. It shares a lot of similarities to the Crow, though in my case it's more of a trickster. It also symbolizes magic and mysticism, and is sometimes described as a keeper of secrets. That fits me fucking perfectly, don't you think?”

I winced. “Sorry.”

Rachel huffed and shook her head. “Don't be. I always hated my spirit animal. Maybe if I'd paid more attention to it originally none of this shit would've even happened. It is what it is.”

Kate quietly spoke up. “So, what would my spirit animal be?”

Victoria snorted next to her and muttered, “If Alice is any indication, it must be a cute little bunny, just like you.” Then she slapped a hand over her mouth in horror upon realizing that she'd said that last bit out loud.

Chloe chuckled. “I was right! I knew it, she _is_ your pet bunny!”

Kate mock-glared at her. “I am not!”

I hummed in agreement. “While a bunny sounds like it'd be perfect for her spirit animal, I have to agree with Kate on this one.”

Chloe raised an eyebrow at me. “What? Why?”

Both Victoria and Kate whipped their heads around to glare daggers at me. As tempting as it was to reveal that if anything Victoria was the pet in their relationship, I couldn't out Kate like that so I just shrugged and said, “No comment.”

Before Chloe could push further, Victoria asked, “What's my spirit animal supposed to be then?”

Rachel looked up in thought before replying. “I think the Horse fits you pretty well, to be honest. It explains your drive and passion to succeed, previously even at the cost of others, your desire to be free from the shackles of your parents and to be happy being yourself. It works for both the old and new version of you.”

Victoria nodded. “I guess I'll take that.”

Rachel stretched in her seat. “Don't take my word for it, Samuel the janitor knows a lot more about spirit animal stuff than I do, even if he is weird. You'd be better off asking him.”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “That explains how he knew that my Doe was a spirit animal when I spoke to him in the old timeline... I think he said his spirit animal was a Squirrel? Though it's still strange how he seemed to know about the Storm, and kept hinting at my power over time as if he knew I had it.”

Rachel shrugged. “He once told me that squirrels like to leave warnings and that since they are his spirit animal he can hear them, I'm not entirely sure if that's true though. But if it is, then the squirrels must be able to sense future events, or something? Fuck if I know. We'll have to ask him one day.”

Chloe cleared her throat then to get my attention. “Max, are you going to tell us what your spirit animal wanted?”

I blinked at that. “Oh. Well, I think what Victoria said to me earlier about making sure I don't fail again made me wonder how I'd do that, and I guess my spirit animal decided to show up to give me some guidance. It even let me stroke it and take a picture of it, look!” Then I excitedly rummaged through my bag to pull out the photo and showed it to everyone.

Chloe rolled her eyes playfully and stayed silent.

Rachel giggled. “See, I told you it was real this time.”

Kate's squee almost melted my heart. “Oh, It's so cute!”

Victoria hummed. “Pretty nice shot, Max. You should definitely submit that as your photo for Photography class when we get back to Blackwell.”

I grinned at her. “You know what? I think I will. Did you guys manage to take any of your own pictures yet by the way?”

Victoria nodded. “Yeah, we both did while we were waiting for you to finish with your spirit animal.”

I stretched my legs out for a moment while thinking over my plan one more time. I quickly decided to come clean and tell them about it since we were a team now, even if they probably wouldn't like it.

I coughed and cautiously spoke up. “Speaking of pictures... I have an idea to make sure I don't fail. You guys won't like it but you deserve to know what it is.”

Chloe sat forward and frowned at that. “Max-”

I interrupted her before she could get going. “No, Chloe. Like you guys said before, you're alive because of me. You all suffered at the hands of Jefferson in some way, and I refuse to let that happen again. I'm the one with time powers here, and I'm not trying to guilt-trip you for this Rachel, but thanks to you now I have to carry all this shit even if it fucks me up completely, that's just how it is. Now, Victoria, we pretty much know for a fact that you're going to be Jefferson's next target still, though Nathan did say he had his eye on me too. So... the only way I can think of to make sure nothing happens to the rest of you, is to make sure he goes after me this time instead.”

Chloe groaned in frustration. “Max, come on. You can't be serious. Like fuck are we letting him get his hands on you, or any of us.”

The others nodded at that.

I smiled slightly but refused to back down. “I know, Chloe. I know. But remember our original goal was to catch him in the act down in the Dark Room and then give him a taste of his own medicine. That implies he would have a victim down there when we bust in. Since I won't let it be any of you, then by process of elimination it has to be me.”

Chloe raked a hand down her face. “Right, for the sake of the argument let's say we allow you to be this idiotic. You do realize how dangerous this would be, yeah?”

I smirked. “Of-course I do. Allowing the only person who can fix any fuck ups to be the one who gets kidnapped and drugged is plain stupid. That's why I plan on having a little chat with Nathan during Mrs Hoida's free period tomorrow morning, because I assume he would be the one tasked with drugging me. I can just have him act like he did it and then I can pretend to be unconscious while I get taken to the Dark Room. Once I'm there, you guys would have to wait a little while for him to start taking his disgusting pictures before you come to my rescue and catch him red handed. Since I wouldn't actually be drugged, my powers should work fine and I could get free during a time-freeze... and then he's fucked.”

Rachel shook her head in exasperation. “You're really placing a lot of faith on a guy who already technically drugged three of us to not drug you just because he snitched on Jefferson and his father, while we held him at gunpoint?”

I shrugged. “I know it sounds like a long shot at best but at this point I think going all in is our best chance at ending this shit once and for all. Besides, my spirit animal seemed to be in agreement with me, like... it told me this would work, even if it obviously won't be easy. It probably says a lot about how fucked up my mental state already is that I'm so willing to do this but, well, I already went through being his victim once. I'll gladly suffer one last time just to watch the smirk get wiped off his smug fucking face when he's suddenly the one sitting in the chair staring up at me holding the camera.”

Kate sighed. “I see we're not going to be able to convince you otherwise, but Max, are you seriously okay with doing this? Even if Nathan doesn't drug you, just imagining being back in the Dark Room is enough to make my skin crawl so I hate to think of what it'd be like for you.”

I involuntarily shivered at that. “Of-course I'm not okay with it. The last thing I want is to step foot in the Dark Room ever again, much less be strapped to that fucking chair when I can still feel the phantom restraints on my wrists even now. I know realistically I don't have to do this, but... I just do. I don't know how else to justify it other than that I feel like I _need_ to.”

Victoria huffed. “Fine, Maxine. If this is really how you want to play it, we'll back you. We've come too far to back down now even if we disagree with you on this. So, the million dollar question is, how do you plan on making sure Jefferson targets you instead of me?”

I blinked for a moment, expecting a lot more resistance than that. Then I smirked at her. “The deadline for the Everyday Heroes contest is the end of today's Photography class if I remember correctly. I'm going to submit a last minute entry that is guaranteed to capture his interest.”

Victoria raised an eyebrow. “You're giving me competition, huh? Okay then, bring it on, Maxine. Though as nice a shot as the Doe picture is, I don't think it fits the Everyday Heroes theme.”

I snorted. “That's why you're all going to help me make the perfect photo that depicts me as the real Everyday Hero. I mean, you said it yourselves; I saved all of you. The picture I was originally thinking of entering with before all this shit happened was just a standard selfie of me standing in-front of my selfie wall. I have no idea how that even won in the alternate sub-timeline where I went to San Francisco, since I definitely was not an “Everyday Hero” back then. But, I am now, and I need something much better to prove it.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Fine, smart-ass. How about a picture of you with all the people you saved, and by that I mean us.”

Rachel clapped her hands in excitement. “Yes! A Time Warriors group photo.”

Kate hummed. “So where do you think would be the best place to do it? A Junkyard is an odd place for a photo that'll be featured in a gallery.”

I glanced awkwardly at Rachel. “Well, I was thinking... we could just do it around Rachel's grave? I want to get Jefferson's attention, after-all. What better way than taunting him with a picture of the place where Rachel's body is supposedly buried, while hinting that she is also still alive in the photo?”

Rachel hummed, unconvinced. “Isn't that a little too on the nose, though? Wouldn't it just tip him off that we're onto him?”

I shrugged. “Maybe. But the Vortex Club Party is tomorrow. He has to keep up appearances long enough to announce the winner of the contest, so if he decides to run before that happens then it'd be very suspicious, and if he stays until that point then he's about to kidnap one of us anyway so it doesn't make much of a difference. There's too short of a time-frame for him to do anything crazy.”

Victoria stood up and stretched. “Okay then, I suppose we might as-well just get out there and see what we've got to work with.”

A minute later and we were all standing around the patch of dirt where Rachel was meant to be buried, trying to figure out the best way to pull off a photo that would simultaneously win the contest and get Jefferson's attention. Eventually we settled on using the drone to give us the best quality picture possible, plus it gave a unique angle to the shot compared to a handheld camera. We set the scene so that I was standing on one side of the grave with my hands behind my back, while everyone else kneeled down on the opposite site looking up at me, ensuring their backs were to the drone so that they couldn't be directly identified by face.

Once we were all in position, I cleared my throat and asked, “Is everything good? Anything else we could do to make this look better?”

Rachel looked around in thought. “Perhaps we could put an item that used to represent us before we were victims, or represents us now, on my... grave, for symbolism of what we lost and what we gained thanks to Max saving us. So it's sort of like a memorial and a rebirth at the same time. Uh... I'll start.” Then she blinked, and swiftly removed the well-worn and dirt-covered blue feather from her ear and placed it down in-front of her.

Chloe shrugged, then followed suit by taking off her bullet necklace.

Kate hummed, before pulling her own cross necklace out of her pocket and placing it carefully on the ground, much to my surprise. I thought she'd left it back at Blackwell but apparently she still brought it along even if she couldn't bring herself to wear it any longer.

Victoria sighed and fished around in her bag with one hand trying to find something while still keeping the drone airborne. She huffed before eventually withdrawing what looked like a large business card embossed with the Vortex Club logo and 'VORTEX CLUB PRESIDENT' lettering across the top, neatly setting it down in the dirt.

I raised an eyebrow at her. “Really, Vic?”

Victoria shrugged. “I couldn't find anything else. What's wrong, are you jealous?”

I snorted. “Maybe. If you can get that, does it mean we can all have one with 'CO-PRESIDENT' on it too?”

Victoria rolled her eyes. “Well, I designed this ages ago one day when I was bored, it was a pain in the ass to make though so we'll see if you prove worthy of one.”

I fake-pouted at her and glanced down at everyone's items in-front of me.

Satisfied with their random collection of tributes, I nodded at Victoria who re-positioned the drone so that everything was in the frame, and as the cherry on top she managed to get the sun shining as a backdrop to the photo, effectively giving me a make-shift halo. She hummed to herself, clearly pleased, and then took the shot.

We all immediately crowded around the tablet to see the photo, resulting in everyone staring in awe at the finished product.

Chloe was the first to break out of speechlessness. “This is Hella Amaze-balls, Max. You're gonna win that stupid contest with this for sure.”

Rachel put her feather back in her ear and fist-bumped me. “Hella cool shot, Max.”

Victoria put her card back into her bag and snorted. ”Of-course it's a cool shot, I'm the one who took it. Max, I expect to be credited accordingly if you actually manage to win the contest with this photo.”

Kate pocketed her cross necklace and yawned. “I'm sure you will be, Vic. It was a team effort after-all, so maybe she'll credit all of us.”

Chloe sighed and retrieved her bullet necklace. “Being featured in a gallery is Max's thing, I'm fine not being named if it means she finally gets the recognition she deserves.” Then she paused for a moment before continuing, “You know, my dad would be so damn proud of you for taking up his silly little hobby and getting this far with it, and so am I.”

Upon hearing that, I turned and threw myself into her arms to hide the flood of emotions that unexpectedly surfaced because of that sentence, where I allowed the happy-tears to fall while I buried my head into her chest. “I know he would. You have no idea how much that means to me. Thank you, Chloe.”

Our hug was rudely interrupted by another loud caw coming from the trees where the Raven previously flew off towards. It then suddenly bolted back out into the open and once more flew overhead, causing me to glance over at Rachel, who was staring up at it again.

I sniffled before quietly speaking up, “You okay, Rach?”

She just held up her index finger in response, signalling for me to wait, as she continued watching the Raven fly off into the horizon. Then she blinked a couple of times before turning to face the rest of us and awkwardly cleared her throat. “So, uh... I suppose it's time for me to finally show you all my powers.”

I frowned at her. “Are you sure? You don't have to do that if you're not ready.”

Rachel shrugged in response. “I think my spirit animal wants me to. After everything that's happened, it's time I stopped ignoring it, so yeah, I'm gonna give you all a little demonstration, I suppose.”

Chloe crossed her arms. “What was it that you said before at the pirate fort about not wanting to cause another forest fire?” Then she gestured around at the trees surrounding the Junkyard.

Rachel smirked at her. “I promise not to kick another trash can this time, Chloe. Besides, the middle of the Junkyard is far away enough from the treeline for it to not be an issue. If anything happens, Max can just rewind anyway, right?”

I raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn't count on that being the case, even-though you technically gave me the rewind, we have no idea if my power will have any effect on your power.”

Rachel hummed. “Then I guess we'll just have to test that to make sure.” She glanced around and settled her gaze on the spot where she'd climbed out from in this timeline before continuing, “But first, before I scare you all with fire there's one last thing I want to do.”

Then she sauntered over to her grave and knelt down in-front of it. She place one hand firmly on the dirt, took a deep breath and then clenched her other hand into a fist while she concentrated. The second she did so, I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming; as the entire area around the ditch was now turning into a grassy knoll right before our eyes, followed by colourful flowers sprouting up in a protective ring around the hole and then to top it all off, a huge bush burrowed up out of the grave itself to cover it, perfectly hiding it from view. By the time Rachel had stopped and stood back up, the place where she had previously been overdosed and discarded like trash had now been transformed into an amazing patch of land that clashed against the rough scenery in the rest of American Rust. She had managed to effectively remove all traces of where she had been buried and put a beautiful garden in it's place with relative ease.

Rachel turned back around with a beaming grin plastered on her face, then she shook her hands in the air dramatically and exclaimed, “Ta-da! My resurrection is now complete.”

Unsurprisingly, the rest of us were utterly speechless and simply stared back and forth between her and the various bits of flora that had popped up within seconds.

Rachel rolled her eyes. “Okay, I know I just blew everyone's minds, but please follow me if you want to see what I can do with fire.” Then she nonchalantly walked past us and back towards the middle of the Junkyard, leaving us standing there awestruck for several seconds before we snapped out of it and rushed off after her.

Once we'd caught up to Rachel, she was now standing next to an old scrapped car and busy looking around at the piles of junk surrounding us when I heard her mutter, “I'm gonna need a few things for target practice...”

Being the one most familiar with seeing the impossible, I managed to find my voice first and groaned. “Please no more fucking bottles. Not again.”

Rachel turned to look at me and snorted. “Don't worry, Max. I'm not a bitch like Chloe. Any old junk will do this time.” Then she gestured at the piles of junk and continued, “Guys, just grab anything small enough to fit on the hood of this car.”

Chloe rolled her eyes but was still too shocked to protest, so she wandered off to find useable junk along with the rest of us.

A minute later, we had all returned with various bits and pieces of trash, neatly lining them up on the hood of the car like Rachel had requested.

Rachel cleared her throat to get our attention. “Okay, now before I begin I want to make a few things clear when it comes to my powers. What you saw back at my old grave was a one-off; it's not very useful as a tool in our fight against Jefferson. In-fact, the only part of my powers that I am okay enough with the dangers to be willing to use it offensively is the fire, which is why I want to show you all how it works so that you're prepared just in-case I do have to use it. As for my other powers, after what I did to you guys before with the visions and nightmares, I probably won't be using that for quite some time. Also, considering that my ability to manipulate the weather is what caused the Storm and this entire fucking shit-show in the first place I'm sure you can see why I am not comfortable tapping into that part of me ever again.”

We all nodded at her in understanding.

Rachel cracked her knuckles in preparation. “Good. What you're about to see will be a little weird and scary, though Max has already seen a sneaky demo of this back at Jefferson's house so don't be worried.”

Then she flexed her fingers and took another deep breath. Once she released it, similar to last time a ball of fire materialized in the palm of her hand.

Kate immediately spoke up, concerned. “Wow, Rachel. Doesn't that hurt?”

Rachel glanced at me and rolled her eyes before answering with a simple, “Nope.”

Chloe whistled. “Sweet.”

Victoria just silently stared at the fire, transfixed.

Rachel hummed. “Do you guys want to see a cool party trick?” Then before anyone could answer, she produced a few more balls of fire and started juggling with them.

Chloe immediately started clapping excitedly. “Holy shit, Rach! I didn't know you could juggle.”

Rachel grinned at her. “Well, that's because I had to practice this shit in secret and after juggling balls of fire, doing it with regular balls wasn't very fun, you know?”

Chloe snorted and stayed quiet with the rest of us while we watched Rachel's juggling performance start to increase in complexity.

Eventually, she decided she'd had enough of juggling and suddenly started launching them one by one at the various hunks of junk we'd placed on the car. Surprisingly, she hit several of them dead-on, sending them flying into the air. A couple other balls barely just missed their intended targets and flew into the car's interior since it was missing a wind-shield, exploding into tiny flames and setting fire to the rotting leather back-seat.

Chloe tutted. “Not bad, Rach. So much for not setting fire to anything, though.” .

Rachel rolled her eyes and looked at me. “Well, I tried. At-least this gives Max a chance to see how her rewind interacts with my power. And if for some reason she can't rewind it away, then it's a good thing I picked a car that was no-where near any of the trash piles.”

I nodded at her and took a breath before extending my arm and bending time to my will. The first thing I did was hold the world in a freeze, and immediately observed that the fire inside the car was _not_ frozen like everything else. It didn't appear to be spreading like it would in normal time-flow, however the flames themselves were still animated and moving regardless. It was very strange to look at.

I quickly switched to a rewind, and watched as the flames thankfully reversed course along with the rest of reality. Once the fire had rewound back into balls and were sailing through the air, I slowed down time and saw that they were still flickering like before, even in this condensed shape. It didn't seem to be an issue though since it was obeying my rewind at the same time. I continued rewinding them and noticed that Rachel was indeed a great shot; both of the balls had just brushed past their targets to the right, and I made a quick note to correct her once I'd let go.

I studied the flamed for a little longer before deciding I'd had enough, and relinquished my hold on time at the point where Rachel had begun firing at the pieces of trash.

The instant I let go of the rewind, I called out, “Rachel, aim the last two slightly to the left!”

She didn't respond but presumably heard me, and I watched as this time every single ball of fire landed on-target.

Everyone started clapping and cheering, while Rachel turned to me and asked, “Did you have any problems?”

I shrugged at her. “Your powers definitely interact with my rewind differently, at-least where your fire abilities are concerned.”

Rachel frowned. “How so?”

I looked up in thought. “From what I could tell, the fire continued to move even when I had frozen time. Watching the flames flickering while everything else around me wasn't moving was certainly eerie, however your power seems to obey mine in the sense that it still rewound with the rest of reality, it just refused to be frozen in place.”

Rachel hummed. “Very odd. At-least we now know you are able to rewind it away though, I was worried it might somehow persist through time or something, considering how when I set Culmination State park on fire years ago the forest fire only stopped after I'd almost died.”

I nodded at her. “Lucky for you then, so long as I'm here you won't be causing any-more forest fires.” Then I stuck my tongue out at her.

Victoria coughed, now that she no longer had flames to stare into, and asked, “So those little balls of fire, is that all you can do with your, uh... fire powers?”

Rachel shook her head in response. “Nah. Well, that's pretty much the limit of what I can produce whenever I want. Anything bigger or stronger than that requires a lot more effort and emotion put into it which makes it awkward to do, not to mention unpredictable.”

Chloe snickered. “So don't piss off the super-powered fire queen, got it.”

Just then, Kate groaned and I turned to see her looking at her phone. “We're going to need to leave in a minute otherwise we'll be late for class, and we don't want to miss out on the opportunity to see Jefferson's face when Max's hands in her Everyday Heroes contest photo.”

Chloe huffed. “Fine, that's enough excitement until tonight, I guess.” Then she started patting her pockets to find her truck keys and cursed when she realized she'd left them back in the Hideout before sprinting off to grab them.

A few seconds later, Chloe's voice boomed across the Junkyard, “Guys, get your asses in here, there's one last thing we need to do before we leave!”

We all impatiently headed back towards the Hideout to see Chloe leaning against the side wall with a wide grin on her face and a marker in her hand. I knew exactly what was coming next.

Chloe tapped the marker against the wall in excitement. “It's time to officially mark this as The Time Warriors' Hideout.” Then she gestured to her old graffiti on the wall before continuing, “Everyone write down your names please, just like I did here.”

She sighed at the collective roll of eyes from the rest of us and handed the marker to me. “It's only fair I let my First Mate go first. Well, second. You know what I mean.”

I snorted and scribbled my name underneath hers.

Then came everyone else's names.

I smiled and thought to myself, _“We are once again officially a trio, or in this case a quintuple.”_

And then, after some extra cringe-worthy embellishment at Chloe's insistence, we rushed over to the truck and sped off back to Blackwell, leaving the newly minted Time Warriors' Hideout permanently marked with the following graffiti:

_**WELCOME TO THE TIME WARRIORS' HIDEOUT!** _

_ **CHLOE WAS HERE!** _

_ **MAX WAS HERE!** _

_ **RACHEL WAS HERE!** _

_ **KATE WAS HERE!** _

_ **VICTORIA WAS HERE!** _

_**Entry is strictly forbidden to everyone except for the names listed above, unless you are invited in advance. To intrude uninvited will make you a sworn enemy of The Pirates of Arcadia Bay, The Queens of Blackwell and The Time Warriors. You have been warned. Disregard this at your own peril, you stupid assholes.** _

_**~THE TIME WARRIORS, WEATHERING THE STORM SINCE OCTOBER 2013.** _


	19. This Action Will Have Consequences...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Time Warriors take a gamble on their new plan to go all-in.
> 
> Three closeted lesbians attend Life Drawing class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> Short chapter today, but fear not - I may have been on a slight writing spree and have a few more chapters prepared in advance. I'm going to refrain from hyping up my return though because everytime I do that it seems to jinx it and I end up vanishing for months again.
> 
> Enjoy! :)

**Pricefield - Time Warriors**

**Chapter 19: This Action Will Have Consequences...**

By the time we had gotten back to Blackwell, there wasn't very long left before our Photography class' return deadline was over, and we still had to transfer the photos from the drone and in Kate and Victoria's case, from their cameras, so that we could hand them in before the class officially ended.

As soon as Chloe had shut off the engine, we all scrambled out in a hurry.

I groaned in frustration. “I didn't think we'd be cutting it this close. Come on guys, let's get in there before we're late.”

Chloe huffed. “Hey, it's not my fault we got stuck behind some dumb-ass trucker for half of the drive. You better run those tiny legs of yours back to class, Max.”

I rolled my eyes at her. “Screw you, Chloe. I'm sure you and Rachel will find some way to entertain yourselves for the next hour and a half while we're busy in Life Drawing class; too bad we can't use you as models, huh? I mean, those lanky legs of yours would be the perfect drawing subject.” Then I stuck my tongue out at her and sprinted off after Kate and Victoria who had gone on ahead. The last thing I heard before rounding the corner was Rachel laughing at Chloe as she responded by letting loose a string of expletives in my direction.

Entering Blackwell, I had to stop for a second to catch my breath from my short sprint across the quad. The halls were completely empty due to every other class still being in session for the next five or so minutes, so it was a quick walk over to the Photography classroom, where Kate and Victoria were waiting outside for me.

Victoria snorted quietly. “You sure took your time, Maxine. It looks like we're the last ones to return from our little field trip. We better get in there and transfer our photos while we can.”

I gripped my arm anxiously. “Great, all eyes will be on us as soon as we walk through that door, including Jefferson's.”

Kate smiled at me. “Don't worry, I'm sure his attention will be focused elsewhere once you give him that contest photo. I can't wait to see his eyes pop out of his perverted head in surprise.”

Victoria rolled her eyes. “Well, better late than never. Here we go.” Then she inched open the door and the three of us ducked inside as inconspicuously as possible.

Of-course, our attempt at sneaking in failed immediately since Jefferson was already leaning on his desk and facing the door.

Jefferson shoved his hands into his pockets. “Ah, girls. You finally grace us with your presence. Almost too late, I might add.”

His sarcastic tone of voice almost caused me to break his nose in response, but I swallowed the urge back down and casually replied, “Sorry _sir_ , we decided to do something different this time and borrowed a drone for my photos. I'm sure the unique perspective it gave them will make up for the fact we got stuck in traffic.”

Jefferson simply raised an eyebrow. “Uh huh.” Then he nodded towards the computer at the back of the room before continuing, “Then I suggest you be quick about transferring and printing them out.”

I nodded stiffly and then the three of us walked through the classroom, ignoring the stares from everyone else.

Victoria pulled the drone out of my bag and started hooking it's camera up to the computer. Kate opened her own bag and pulled out a small flash-drive before plugging it in. Once the contents of the drone popped up on-screen, it was a good thing the computer was hidden from view since many of our Prescott surveillance pictures instantly appeared in the folder as huge thumbnails with their subjects on clear display. I quickly selected all of them and dragged them over to be stored on Kate's flash-drive for later, which she then pulled out of the computer and placed back in her bag as soon as they were all relocated. With that mini heart attack dealt with, the only remaining photo was my new contest entry that I set to print using the photo printer sitting right next to us. As soon as it was finished, Victoria unhooked the drone from the computer, placed it back into my bag and began connecting her own camera so that she could print out her and Kate's photos next.

Leaving them to it, I instead took my contest entry from the printer and grabbed the Polaroid of the Doe from my bag before taking a few deep breaths, then I walked right up to Jefferson and practically shoved the Polaroid into his hands, making sure to keep the contest entry behind my back.

He glanced down at the Polaroid and hummed. “I thought you said you'd used a drone for your photo, Max. This is a great shot, but why the Polaroid?”

I smiled innocently. “Sorry if I confused you, _sir_. I used my Polaroid camera to take my photo for today's class.”

He frowned at me. “So what was the drone used for, if not for my lesson?”

I casually removed the contest photo from behind my back and placed it face-down on his desk, before smugly answering, “I remembered that the deadline for the Everyday Heroes contest is the end of this class, and I finally decided to enter. Better late than never, right? To be honest, this is the best picture I've ever taken and I really hope you like the _killer_ backdrop I chose to go along with it.”

Then I turned on my heel and stalked back to the desk where Kate and Victoria were sitting, leaving Jefferson standing there speechlessly staring at the photo I placed on his desk.

Sitting down in my chair, I leaned forward on the table just in time to watch with utter satisfaction as Jefferson carefully picked up my contest entry and flipped it over. He stood there silently scrutinizing it for a solid minute, while the class looked on with confusion. Then just as Kate predicted, his eyes practically bugged out of his head presumably as he noticed exactly where the photo had been taken.

I muttered sarcastically under my breath so that only Kate and Victoria could hear me. “Hey guys, do you think he knows where we were?”

Victoria snorted quietly. “I should hope so, we made it incredibly fucking obvious.”

Kate hummed. “Oh yeah, he knows. I just wonder if he's realized that Rachel herself is kneeling right in the middle. It's not like we bothered to hide her identity any better than the rest of us.”

I shrugged and whispered, “He kept her in the Dark Room for over three months. If he doesn't recognise her distinctive blonde hair and the fact that her trademark blue feather is sitting on her supposed grave, he's a lot dumber than we give him credit for.”

Jefferson's eyes briefly flickered upwards, glancing across the three of us before settling on me.

I responded by smirking darkly to make sure he got the message.

He frowned slightly at that before looking back down at the photo and nodding to himself.

I shuddered involuntarily. “Well he definitely knows something's up now. I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about the fact that I just made myself a target. I really do have a death-wish, huh?”

Victoria scoffed. “Max, you have more backbone than I ever considered possible for a quiet hipster nerd like you. There's no fucking way I'd be able to do what you just did, but you could always change your mind and rewind this away, we certainly wouldn't blame you if you did.”

I took a slow breath to calm my nerves before shaking my head at her. “No deal, Vic. Whatever happens now, I'm seeing this one through to the end. I'm done running from this psychopathic bastard. I beat him once and I can damn well do it again.”

Before either of them could respond, Jefferson interrupted by clearing his throat to get the class' attention. “Okay, everyone. Before the bell rings and you all scramble to leave my great classroom, I would just like to remind you all that the deadline for the Everyday Heroes contest has now officially ended, and I'd like to congratulate Max Caulfield for deciding to take such a huge step in her future Photography career by handing in a literal last second entry. Now, I can't pre-judge, of-course, but I will commend her for stepping outside of her comfort zone of using her Polaroid camera to give her shot a, uh... _special perspective_ while still keeping true to her usual style of “selfies”. Now it seems I have some last minute considerations to make before being able to announce Blackwell Academy's winner, in person, at tomorrow night's Vortex Club party. I hope to see you all in attendance.”

The rest of the class turned in their seats to give me varying looks of approval. Thankfully, the only person in this room who would've given me any shit for doing this is Victoria, but now that she's on my side, my anxiety quickly died in the face of everyone's else's support. I just smiled awkwardly at them in response.

Luckily, the bell rang before Jefferson could say anything else, and as he predicted everyone made a rush for the door, including the three of us, so that Jefferson couldn't hold any of us back for a private conversation.

Now that we were freely back in the hallway, it was time for our final class of the day, Life Drawing. In the previous timeline I never got the chance to attend today's lesson since I was still in the alternate timeline so I was quite curious to see what we would be doing today. Life Drawing at Blackwell was pretty much a coin-flip on if it would be a boring lesson or an exciting one depending on how nude the model was, mostly due to the fact that the majority of our class' male students consisted of immature jocks, and I was going in completely blind. Thankfully, the class was located upstairs in a room at the back of the building facing the forest and was no-where near Jefferson's predatory gaze.

Once we reached the doorway, I turned around expecting to see only Victoria, and was quite surprised to see Kate had come along too.

I raised an eyebrow at her. “Kate, don't you usually sit these classes out for religious reasons, or whatever it was?”

Kate coughed awkwardly and her eyes darted towards the door, but Victoria cut in before she could say anything. “Yeah, I seem to recall you fainted on the first day of class when you walked in and saw the model standing there completely naked. You never came back since.”

Kate glanced down at her feet and mumbled, “Can you please not tease me on this Vic? Obviously thanks to my parents being so religious, that was my first time seeing anyone who was, well... naked, besides myself of-course.”

Victoria winced. “Sorry. But like Max said, why aren't you sitting this out like you always have?”

Kate shrugged her shoulders slightly then glanced back up at us and hissed. “Because I'm done being sheltered by my parents. I got drugged and abused by Jefferson yet half of my family turned against me for thinking I was some kind of slut. Fuck that. If they already think I'm a slut, then what do I care if I experience these supposedly sinful acts for myself? I mean, I'm already a closeted lesbian, apparently.” Then she went red-faced before continuing, “Plus I already pretty much saw you naked in the pool and didn't faint, so I figured it's time I get to see all these things that my parents constantly shun... even if I do feel like I'm going to die from embarrassment.”

Victoria raised an eyebrow at her. “Okay, well, I guess I'll take that as a compliment, and as a fellow closeted lesbian I will say that seeing naked models can make the actual drawing part a little awkward at first, but you'll get used to it. Though they aren't always nude, sometimes they're fully clothed or in underwear which makes it easier to concentrate.”

I snorted. “Since I am also a closeted lesbian, I'll second that. You'll be fine, Kate. It's the guys who seem to lose their freaking minds when they see a naked model, it's disgusting. At-least we can appreciate it in silence _and_ get the damn drawing done without making such a fuss that we get thrown out of the classroom.”

Kate nodded. “Just... make sure this time one of you catches me if I do faint again, okay?”

The classroom door opened then, and Victoria and I instinctively stepped up behind Kate, just in-case.

Our Life Drawing teacher stepped out of the room and she quickly shut the door behind her before we could see anything.

Man, if Jefferson thought he was cool then he had nothing on our Life Drawing teacher. She was barely a few years older than us but very kind and always helpful when it came to our drawing techniques. The only time she lost her temper was when the jocks started cracking jokes on the first day of class, and she has maintained a constant vigilance over their behaviour since, resulting in at-least one of them being removed for inappropriate comments every week. They still haven't learned to keep their mouths shut, though.

The teacher glanced around and noticed that we were the first students to arrive. She blinked upon realizing Kate was with us and smiled. “Hello there, Miss Marsh. I'm delighted to see you've decided to return. Since, I'm aware of your reasons for abstaining from my class and considering your reaction on the first day I will admit I didn't expect to see you here again.”

Kate nodded but stayed quiet.

I spoke up to save her from the embarrassment. “Miss, she wants to give it another shot. Seeing as we're the only ones here yet, could you make an exception and let us inside to set up early? Give Kate a chance to get used to, well... everything.”

She hummed at that before smiling once more. “I suppose so. But please, do let me know if it becomes too much for you to handle and I'll let you leave, okay Kate?”

Kate nodded again and looked up long enough to flash her a smile of her own.

The teacher glanced around to ensure nobody was passing by before opening the door and quickly ushering us inside.

I bumped into the back of Kate the second we crossed into the room, and soon realized she had her eyes shut tight. Our teacher noticed and rolled her own eyes at us.

I looked around the room and spotted the model for today's lesson standing by the window overlooking the forest. She had turned around to see what the commotion was and we managed to get a good look at her. If I had to guess, she was probably in her 30's and luckily for Kate was only half-naked in her underwear. She gave us a small nod before our teacher began whispering in her ear.

Once our teacher was done, she came back over to us and gently muttered to Kate, “You can open your eyes now. You'll be fine, Kate.”

Kate took a deep breath and reluctantly popped an eye open. Then the other. In one quick movement she looked the model up and down before blinking several times and nodding to herself.

The model waved at her. “Not as scary as you was expecting, huh?”

Kate managed to look her and grinned, though she was still beet-red.

After that small interaction, things went pretty smoothly. We quickly got set up before the rest of class came in, at which point the model took up her position in the middle of the room and the drawing commenced.

Ten minutes later, I leaned over to Kate and asked, “How are you doing?”

Kate shrugged. “Well I haven't fainted yet so that's a good sign. Though I wish I hadn't missed so many classes, I'm so used to drawing cartoon art that I suck at doing this.”

Victoria leaned over to glance at her drawing progress and smirked. “Don't worry, I struggled to draw the boobs on the first day too.”

Kate just growled under her breath.

Not long after that, I overheard one of the guys starting to make lewd comments about the model, like always.

I took a peek around my drawing to see who it was, and was not surprised to see that it was Logan being a piece of shit again. What did surprise me however, was when I saw him turn to one of his supposed jock friends standing next to him to tell him another sexist joke, that guy immediately grabbed his drawing and moved to another part of the room.

Victoria watched this happen too, and she turned back to me with a smile, “I see Hayden and Zachary work fast, not even Logan's jock buddies want to associate with him any-more.”

I took another look around the room and realized that the teacher hadn't heard Logan being inappropriate. Since I quite liked this model, and I hated Logan's guts, I decided to rat him out and promptly raised my hand to call over the teacher.

She made her way over and asked, “What do you need? Is Kate doing okay?”

I quickly nodded at her. “Kate's fine, Miss. I just wanted to let you know that I overheard Logan making disrespectful comments about the model. Also, I don't know if you heard but he recently got himself kicked from the Vortex Club for, amongst other things, trying to hit my girlfriend-” I immediate froze up in horror realizing I'd just casually let that slip.

The teacher winked at me before looking over in Logan's direction and frowning. “I take it you want me to kick him out?”

I ignored how hot my face was and smirked at her. “Please, Miss. Make my fucking day, excuse my language.”

She nodded at me and swiftly stomped over towards where Logan was sat twiddling his thumbs all alone.

I then revelled in the satisfaction of watching her silently scolding Logan before practically booting him out the door and sending him off to the Principal's office with a disciplinary note. I quietly muttered to myself, “That's what you get for trying to hit my girlfriend, you bastard.”

Kate then leaned towards me and whispered, “So, she's your girlfriend, huh?”

Victoria chuckled. “For being a closeted lesbian, you sure do suck at staying in the closet, Max.”

I groaned and buried my face in my hands, waiting for the ground to swallow me whole.

Unfortunately, no such thing happened, and I had to suffer the torment of both Victoria and Kate making jokes at my expense for the rest of the class.

Once the class finally ended, I rushed to pack away my things before waving goodbye to the model and purposely refused to make eye contact with the teacher while speed-walking out the door. In an effort to get a temporary breather from their relentless teasing, I ran off down the hallway and back down the stairs before reluctantly coming to a stop at the front entrance to wait for them.

When they eventually caught up with me, Victoria was still smirking. She opened her mouth to say something, causing me to groan in frustration. “Vic, don't you dare say another word or I swear I will tell Chloe and Rachel about what I saw when I walked into your room the other day. Don't tempt me.”

She instantly snapped her mouth shut and narrowed her eyes at me.

I huffed. “Good choice.”

Kate giggled. “Where do you think Chloe and Rachel even are?”

Victoria hummed. “Probably hiding in a corner and fucking each other.”

I seriously contemplated slapping her for saying that, but at the last second chose to rewind to before she'd said it instead.

As soon as I let go, I pointed a finger at her while glaring and growled furiously. “Vic _toria_ , as your _friend_ , don't you _ever_ fucking think about saying something like that again. Am I clear?”

Victoria blinked. “Wait, did you just rewind?”

I scoffed and shoved open the front doors before stepping outside while Victoria and Kate followed. “Of-course I just rewound. It was either that or I slapped the shit out of you.”

Victoria put her hands up defensively. “Shit, Max. Sorry. It was just a joke.”

I sighed. “I know that, but I'm already anxious enough when it comes to Chloe, Rachel already confronted me on my jealousy so I don't need you saying stupid shit like that when it's only going to make my insecurities flare up even more. I do not want thoughts like that in my head, not now when we're this close to beating Jefferson.”

Victoria nodded but chose not to respond.

Kate spoke up instead. “So, what are we doing now?”

I shrugged. “Well, first thing's first, I'd like to return Brooke's drone ASAP before she starts hunting me down. Then we'll need to print out those surveillance photos on your flash-drive so we can plan for our mission later tonight.”

Victoria cautiously interjected, “You can use my printer for that.”

Kate nodded.

Then we rounded the corner and walked into the Dorm quad, stopping abruptly when we noticed a ladder propped up against the side of the building leading up to my open window.

I frowned up at my window before muttering, “What the fuck? Did someone break into my room?”

The three of us traded looks and without another word, we all rushed inside the Dorm, up the stairs and down the hall in record time to confront whoever dared to invade the privacy of my cocoon sanctuary.


	20. Interlude - Tech Support

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Time Warriors decide to request the help of Tech Support in their quest for Justice and Revenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> So, I had intended for the previous chapter to be a back-to-back two-parter, but this one turned out to be a little longer than I'd expected and I had to split it up instead. As a result, the ending is a little abrupt because it wasn't originally written with a chapter break in mind, but at-least this way it should hopefully line up nicely with the one year anniversary of the fic next week. Basically this chapter is more of a bridge between the previous chapter and the one coming up next, so rather than just turning it into a three-parter that wouldn't have worked with my pre-planned chapter titling, I added the 'Interlude' prefix to the title instead.
> 
> Enjoy! :)

**Pricefield - Time Warriors**

**Chapter 20: Interlude - Tech Support**

Once we were standing outside my room I quickly pulled out my key and unlocked the door before swiftly throwing it open, immediately noticing two things.

One – My room had not in-fact been broken into. Two – Chloe and Rachel were both laid on the floor, laughing to themselves.

Chloe sat up to look at me when I opened the door and gave me a slight wave before laying down again.

I glanced back at Kate and Victoria, who were just as confused as me.

It was at that point I noticed the joint in Rachel's hand.

I sighed and quickly closed the door behind us. “Are you two really smoking weed in my room?”

Rachel giggled at me.

Chloe spoke from the floor. “Yes. We were bored and decided to smoke some of that weed Frank gave me back at the diner.”

I rubbed my hands over my face. “I can see that, Chloe. But why are you doing it in my room?”

Chloe shrugged. “Well, hot-boxing my truck in the parking lot wasn't much fun after a while, so we figured we'd come here instead.”

I shook my head. “Okay, but why the ladder? You do still have my spare key, right?”

Chloe blinked. Then started checking her pockets, casually withdrawing David's revolver before pulling out the key. “Oh, right. I wish I remembered I had that. Breaking into your dorm in broad daylight wasn't exactly easy, you know?”

I groaned. “Obviously. You used a fucking ladder, Chloe. You realize I could get expelled if they even get a whiff of that weed, right?”

Rachel finally sat up. “Oh fuck! I forgot how uptight they were about that. Sorry!” Then she scrambled to put out the joint, crushing it against my desk and making me wince at the inevitable burn mark.

I took a deep breath before holding out my hand to Chloe. “Give me your gun. I don't want to rewind you shooting yourself while high.” Then I glanced at Rachel and continued, “You too, Rach. I'll put them in a drawer for when we need them later.”

They reluctantly handed their guns over, and I promptly placed them into one of my drawers. Victoria decided to come and put Nathan's pistol in too, so I carefully withdrew mine from my waistband and added it as-well.

I then threw my hands into the air and huffed before turning to Kate and Victoria. “You two keep these idiots company while I go return Brooke's drone.” Then I yanked open the door and quickly closed it behind me before they could protest.

I leaned back against my door for a moment while I contemplated my life. Then I sighed and trudged off down the hall and knocked on Brooke's door.

Once it opened, I got another surprise that I didn't have the patience to deal with right now in the form of Warren answering the door.

Warren nodded at me. “Oh, hey Max.”

I blinked. “Why didn't someone tell me we'd changed to co-ed Dorms overnight?”

Warren chuckled awkwardly. “They didn't. I was just visiting.”

I hummed. “Uh huh. Is Brooke there?”

Before he could answer, Brooke appeared behind him and forcefully dragged him away from the door before returning.

I raised an eyebrow at her. “I hope I didn't interrupt anything.”

Brooke scoffed. “Nope. Well, not _yet_. What do you want, Max?”

I shot her a smirk before pulling the drone out of my bag and handing it to her. “One drone, without a scratch, as promised.”

Brooke inspected the drone thoroughly before nodding to herself. “Impressive. Honestly, I expected you to return it in pieces.”

I snorted. “Being on your bad side isn't fun, you think I'd risk that twice? Your claws are sharp, Brooke.”

Brooke glanced over her shoulder before smiling at me. “Well, I guess we're even now.”

I nodded at her and turned to leave, but Brooke asked, “So, what did you really need my drone for? I know Victoria said it was for photography but not once have I ever seen you use anything other than that Polaroid camera of yours.”

I was going to lie and say that's exactly what I did but for some reason I felt like letting her know what was happening would be a good idea, besides I'd wanted to tell Warren about my powers as soon as I got them in the original timeline and if these two seemed to be getting closer than I might as-well loop both of them in.

So instead, I looked around the empty hallway before muttering, “Real-talk, are you sure I'm not interrupting anything right now, Brooke?”

Brooke glanced over her shoulder again and whispered, “Nah. Warren's nice and all, but fuck is he slow sometimes. I was hoping to make up for lost time, since he was fixated on you for so long, but... well, he's a little dense.”

I snickered. “You have no idea, Brooke.” Then I sighed and continued, “If you really want to know what I used your drone for, then come to my room in ten minutes, and bring Warren, I want him to know too. Farming your combined brainpower will be a big help.”

Brooke rolled her eyes then nodded before waving goodbye and closing the door.

With that done, I reluctantly returned to my room, entering and shutting the door as soon as I stepped inside.

Chloe and Rachel were now sitting on my couch with water bottles in their hands and my box of coconut bites open between them, already half empty.

I sighed exasperatedly and turned to Victoria. “What happened to keeping them company?”

Victoria rolled her eyes. “You clearly haven't been high, have you?”

I frowned. “My Seattle friends convinced my to try weed once, and after almost dying from the first drag I didn't have the urge to take a second one. So not really, no. Why does that even matter?”

She laughed. “Why doesn't that surprise me? Well, you're lucky I managed to distract them with those chocolates of yours otherwise they would've raided the Dorm vending machines or something even worse on their 'quest to vanquish the munchie monster'.” Then she blinked and snorted. “That's not a sentence I thought I'd ever say while sober. I must be getting a contact high.”

Kate giggled from her position on my bed. “Why do you think I'm keeping my distance? I may be expanding my experiences but I'm not ready to get high just yet.” She shuddered before muttering, “Not so soon after being drugged, at-least.”

I made my way over to sit next to her and put my arm around her before turning to look at Chloe and Rachel. “Have you two come down from your high yet?”

Chloe nodded guiltily. “We sobered up pretty quickly after getting scolded by 'Mother Max'. Sorry about smoking in your room, we were too high to think of what'd happen if we were caught. And I'll pay you back for these coconut bites, I promise.”

I sighed. “Chloe, it's fine. You don't have to pay me back, either. We're girlfriends now, shit happens.”

Chloe blinked. “Am I still high as a kite, or did you just-”

Victoria interrupted her by laughing. “Yes, yes she did. You know, she already outed herself to our Life Drawing teacher earlier so I don't think she's that bothered any-more, right Maxine?”

I rolled my eyes at her. “You two already teased me for that so much that I don't have the capacity to care, so right now you are correct, I don't give a fuck.”

Rachel snickered and pinched Chloe's cheek before exclaiming in a sing-song voice, “Aww! Chloe's got a girlfriend! Chloe's got-”

Chloe, red-faced, promptly shoved one of her coconut bites into Rachel's mouth to shut her up.

In the ensuing silence, Kate asked, “Max, what took you so long to give Brooke her drone back?”

I snorted. “Well, when I knocked on the door, Warren answered instead. It turns out Brooke's already making her move on him now that I'm out of the picture. Anyway, she wanted to know what we really used her drone for, since she knows I never use anything besides my trusty Polaroid camera for taking photos. So I figured we could loop her in, and Warren too, and made a snap decision to tell them to come over in a few minutes.”

Chloe hummed. “Are you sure that's a good idea?”

I shrugged. “Don't forget, it was thanks to Warren's stupid crush on me that I was able to escape Jefferson and the Storm in time to save your ass. I confessed to him about my powers right before I jumped back to the Party and he seemed to know a lot of shit about time travel theories. Hell, I was literally about to tell him that very first day when you almost ran me over in the parking lot. So I want him to know. Honestly, if you could see past your protective jealousy for a second, you two science nerds actually have a lot in common. As for Brooke, well, if those two are going to be an item then it'll be much easier to just tell them both, you know? Besides, she seems to like me now and I don't want to ruin that by forcing one of them to keep such a huge secret from the other.”

Chloe grunted at that. “Fine, Max. But if he starts making goo-goo eyes at you then he'll be leaving without functioning legs... or balls, for that matter.”

I snorted. “Sure, but if he did that then I assume Brooke would gladly take care of the second one for you.”

Rachel took a large gulp of water, which caused her to cough and choke a little. When she'd recovered, she asked, “How much do you plan on telling them, exactly?”

I glanced up in thought. “Just the cliff-notes, to keep things short. No doubt we'll need to demonstrate our powers though.”

She nodded.

Victoria huffed. “If the cliff-notes are anything like the explanation you gave to Kate and I then we'll be here all fucking night again.”

I rolled my eyes at her. “They don't need to know the details, Vic.”

She opened her mouth to retort when there was a knock at the door.

I groaned and stood up to open the door, ushering Brooke and Warren inside before slamming the door shut.

Warren immediately sniffed the air and turned to me with an eyebrow raised. “Uh, Max... I didn't know you were a stoner?”

Chloe chuckled from the couch. “She's isn't. That's on us.”

Warren glanced at Chloe, then to Rachel and Kate before settling on Victoria and humming to himself. “Quite the party you have going on in here.”

Brooke nodded. “Yeah, Max. It's already crowded in here. I thought it'd just be us three or something.”

I snorted. “Sorry, I should've made that clearer. But you want to know what we were up to, right?” When she nodded again, I gestured around the room before continuing, “Then please take a seat and prepare to be inducted into our secret society.”

I decided to sit on the couch with Chloe and Rachel, while Kate and Victoria sat on my bed. Which left my desk chair and the floor, causing Brooke and Warren to play rock-paper-scissors for who sat on the chair. Brooke won a best-of-three, much to Chloe's delight, so Warren ended up sitting down at Brooke's feet instead.

With everyone seated, I cleared my throat to get their attention. “Okay, so... first, a ground rule; what you are about to hear and see is not to be mentioned to anyone outside this room. Understood?”

They nodded at me.

I stole a quick sip from Chloe's water bottle before continuing, “Right. Then I guess I'll just come out and say it bluntly – Mark Jefferson is a disgusting predatory pervert who kidnaps and drugs students so that he can take sick photos of them in a secret Dark Room underground bunker. Also, Rachel and I basically have superpowers.”

Brooke snorted sarcastically. “Oh jeez, is that all?”

I crossed my arms at her. “No it's not, but trust me when I say this, Brooke, you don't want to know every single detail.”

Before Brooke could respond, Warren cautiously spoke up. “I'm not saying you're lying, but before I nerd out over the possibilities of superpowers, that's a pretty crazy accusation to make against Jefferson. I don't suppose you have proof?”

I glanced at Rachel, who sighed and dead-panned, “Where do you think I've been for the past six months? Living the dream in Los Angeles?” She snorted to herself. “I fucking wish. That bastard held me captive for three months and tried to kill me with an overdose when he got bored. I only managed to survive because of my powers and have been in hiding ever since.”

Once she was done, Kate muttered, “Jefferson is the reason why I was on video kissing all those people at the last Vortex Club party. He drugged me, kidnapped me and then once he was done he decided to leave me unconscious on a park bench the next morning, if Nathan hadn't left me outside my dorm room instead.”

A look of revulsion flashed across Brooke's face. “Fucking hell.”

Warren interjected, confused. “Wait, what does Nathan have to do with this?”

Victoria huffed. “Nathan's involvement is... complicated. His father made him take private lessons from Jefferson so that he could become his apprentice, and you all know how unstable he could be so it didn't take long for him to get stuck under Jefferson's thumb doing his dirty work. Jefferson forces Nathan to drug his victims for him, so that he can take photos while they're unconscious. We thought he was the real mastermind behind everything until we learned that he was just the middle-man who actually passes the photos onto Sean Prescott so they can be sold to the highest bidder in some sort of global Black Market ring.”

Brooke pinched the bridge of her nose. “This just keeps getting better and better...”

Warren scratched his head. “So, back up a sec... How do you guys even know about all of this in the first place?”

I snorted. “Like I said, superpowers. This is not my first time experiencing this week, nor is it Chloe's-”

Rachel quickly added, “Or mine, technically.”

I nodded at her and continued, “I guess not. But basically, I have the ability to freeze and rewind time backwards, also I can jump across to alternate timelines through photos I either take or am featured in. Let's just say that the original timeline didn't go so well; Chloe gets shot in the bathroom on Monday by Nathan which is where my powers first activated, Kate tried to kill herself on Tuesday because of bullying over the video which I managed to stop from happening, then we found out that Rachel had actually already been dead for months on Wednesday, Victoria got kidnapped by Jefferson at the Party tonight and then Chloe and I stupidly walked into a trap set by him, where he killed her and grabbed me too. Oh and to top it all off, by the time I'd escaped and saved Chloe, it turns out when Rachel died her own powers somehow caused a Storm to appear on Friday which resulted in us being forced to jump into this timeline otherwise we'd have to watch the entire town get obliterated. So here we are, re-doing the week again and now we know what happens.”

Brooke blinked several times. “That's... a lot for me to take in.”

Warren was clearly in his element now and had no such problems digesting what I'd said. “Okay. Right. I'm just going to assume you're telling the truth because that's a lot of specifics to make up on the spot otherwise; so the first question I have is, why did the act of Chloe getting shot activate your powers? Also, can I see them, pretty please?”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Warren, you can stop bouncing. Once we're all on the same page, I will show you. As for your first question, my own powers were given to me by Rachel while she was floating around in limbo or whatever so that I could fix her mistakes. Yes, that's as weird as it sounds.”

Rachel spoke up to clarify. “The powers I have let me manipulate things like the weather and nature, in a way, though a lot of it relies on my emotions. Meaning the fury I felt moments before my death inadvertently summoned a massive tornado in the future. As for how I knew that, I'm also able to make people see things through visions or dreams, and that link is my theory as to how I wasn't able to properly die when Jefferson killed me, which then enabled me to see through the veil between life and death enough to watch what would've happened this week without any intervention. So in a last ditch effort, I channelled some of my own power into Max at the start of the week, which manifested itself in the form of time abilities, allowing her to do what I couldn't.”

Brooke broke her silent observation long enough to ask, “If Rachel died in the original timeline long before the week started, then how is she alive right now in this one?”

I shrugged a little. “Apparently, since my power was given to me by Rachel, the part of her that was stuck in limbo was linked to me and got pulled across timelines when Chloe and I jumped through. Because she was still able to see into the future, and the past I guess, while she was in-between timelines with us, she was able to send a vision back to the Rachel of this timeline, effectively warning herself about her own death.”

Rachel nodded. “Pretty much, yeah. I thought I'd just cease to exist completely once they properly landed in this timeline, but the tiny part of me that was left hanging on suddenly got jammed into this Rachel, and I kinda took over. Without meaning to, I might add. I do still have all her memories and this is her body, but it's basically me in control now, instead of her.“

Warren just blinked at her. “I... uh, okay, I have so much to ask.”

Chloe snickered next to me. “Poor dude, his brain is exploding right now.”

Brooke glanced down at him before sighing. “This is all very fascinating, guys, but please do something before he gets going otherwise he'll never shut up.”

I rubbed my hands together deviously. “If you insist.”

I quickly raised my hand to freeze time before getting up to stand in-front of him and Brooke, then I let it go, teleporting right before their eyes with a dramatic, “Boo!”

Predictably, they both yelped and recoiled in surprise; If Brooke didn't already have the back of my chair against my desk, she'd have probably toppled it over.

I smirked down at Warren, who was now staring at me and making a hilarious impression of a goldfish. “Warren, I need you to reboot your brain back to factory settings, dude. Can you do that?”

After a moment, he began blinking at me, then he nodded slightly and roughly rubbed at his face before quietly muttering to himself, “Holy crap, you actually have powers.”

Brooke took a slow breath before glaring at me. “When I said do something, I didn't mean almost give me a heart attack. Jeez!”

I just rolled my eyes at her. “Sorry. You'll get used to it, though.”

Rachel spoke up from behind me. “Hey Max, is it my turn yet?”

I turned around and crossed my arms. “Fine. Just try not to set off the fire alarm.”

She snorted at that, before clearing her throat and once Brooke and Warren were watching she casually spawned another one of her balls of fire in the palm of her hand.

Warren raised an eyebrow. “Awesome.”

Brooke hummed before glancing down at Warren. “What the hell did we get ourselves into here?”

Warren nodded at that. “Good question. This feels like we're in some kind of comic book. Why exactly did you decide to let us in on this secret?” Then he gestured to Kate and Victoria before continuing, “Those two I understand, but why us?”

Rachel put out the ball of fire then, before it could trigger the fire alarm.

I quickly sat back down next to Chloe before speaking. “Because you're my friend Warren. When I originally got my powers I planned on telling you from the start, until things spiralled out of control and I got side-tracked by investigating Rachel's disappearance with Chloe, so I'm making up for that by telling you now. As for you, Brooke... we might need to use your drone again and it'd be much simpler if you knew why rather than having to lie to your face.”

Brooke frowned. “I see. That reminds me, you still haven't told me what you used my drone for in the first place.”

I blinked at her. “Oh. Well, we sort-of interrogated Nathan which is how we found out about his father's involvement in Jefferson's Dark Room project, and he told us that he keeps records of his interactions with people who are part of the Black Market ring stored away in his study at the Prescott mansion. We needed your drone to scout the place, because we're planning on sneaking in tonight to steal that evidence so we can take everyone down; Jefferson, the Prescott's, and the members of this ring all at once.”

Brooke scoffed exasperatedly. “You flew my drone over the Prescott's mansion?!”

I winced. “It's fine, they didn't spot it, or us. We got away clean, I swear.”

She grumbled to herself for a moment before sighing. “Now that I know just how fucked up everything is in Arcadia Bay, I suppose I'm willing to help you out with my drone, if necessary. So long as I get to fly it. There's no way I'm trusting anyone besides myself to fly my baby anywhere near the Prescott's, especially when I spent ages upgrading it just so that I could fly it all the way out to the edge of town.”

I nodded at her. “That's perfectly fine by us.” Then I turned to Warren, “What about you?”

Warren shrugged. “You know I secretly love spy films, of-course I'm in.”

Chloe rolled her eyes next to me. “Shocker. I don't suppose you have anything that's, you know, useful to us?”

I discreetly elbowed her in the side for letting her jealousy rear it's head again.

Warren frowned in thought for a moment before grinning. “Actually, I do. Not only am I a science nerd, I also have a reputation for handing out pirated films-”

Chloe cut him off, “We don't exactly have time to watch anything right now, dude.”

Warren sighed at her. “If you'll let me finish... I was going to say that I'm pretty good when it comes to technical stuff and creating things that allow me to continue doing what I do best without getting caught. Like, I once made an app that lets you communicate anonymously on an encrypted chat network without being monitored. It was just for fun and I never found a reason to actually use it, but maybe it'll come in handy for you guys while you're pretending to be in a super-powered James Bond film.”

Chloe raised her eyebrows. “Wait, really? That's... actually kinda impressive.”

Warren rubbed his neck awkwardly. “Thanks, I guess. If you want it, you'll need to unlock your phones and give them to me while I download and install my app, though. I, uh... promise not to snoop.”

I hummed in consideration for a moment, only slightly hesitating before I unlocked my phone and handed it to him, followed by a reluctant Chloe, and then everyone else.

Warren spent a few minutes navigating around each of our phones before nodding to himself and offering them back to us.

I took my phone and glanced at the screen before smirking.

_**Welcome To WarNet Systems! A Fully Encrypted And Completely Anonymous Private Messaging Service – Please Enter A Network Username To Begin:** _

I rolled my eyes. “WarNet? Really Warren?”

He winced. “Not very creative, I know. It sounded cooler at the time.”

Chloe snorted. “Sure, dude.”

I hummed and looked around at everyone else. “What should our names be? They'll have to be something only we'd know, just in-case.”

Rachel immediately grinned. “How about using our Spirit Animals, like we discussed earlier? They'd be perfect for secret code-names.”

I shrugged. “That works for me.”

Warren spoke up. “Uh... What about Brooke and I?”

Rachel blinked at him in thought. “Since Brooke is the one providing us with over-watch from the drone if we need it, she can be a Hawk, if that's okay with her?”

Brooke nodded wordlessly.

Warren raised an eyebrow. “And for me?”

Rachel hummed. “If I am remembering correctly, I recall Steph Gingrich once telling me that you were a pretty good Dungeons and Dragons player. So how about you be a Dragon, since I can't think of anything else right now.”

Warren's face lit up in response. “Hell yeah, Dragons are cool!”

Once we'd all set up our usernames, I turned to Warren and asked, “Now what do we do?”

Warren frowned at his phone for a moment before answering. “Um... Oh, right. Just create a channel, then search for our names and invite us. Since it's only us on here it'll be as easy as Pi.”

I snorted at that, and after a minute of fiddling around, the channel was made and everyone had joined.

_**WarNet Systems – Network Encrypted!** _

_**Channel Name: The Time Warriors.** _

_**Current Users: Doe (Channel Owner), Butterfly, Raven, Rabbit, Horse, Hawk, Dragon (WarNet Admin).** _

**//Doe – Are we all here?**

**//Rabbit – I'm here.**

**//Dragon – Yep.**

**//Hawk – Hello.**

**//Raven – Hey!**

**//Horse – Hi.**

**//Butterfly – Welcome to boot camp, recruits. You're supposed to salute me!**

**//Raven – Oh no, this was a bad idea. Butterfly's already turning into DM...**

**//Doe – As if having one military hard-ass nearby wasn't enough.**

**//Butterfly – Oh come on. Using military language will at-least make typing into this secret app less boring.**

**//Dragon – You've only been using it for five seconds though...**

**//Doe – Can we use emojis in here BTW?**

**//Dragon – Not unless you do them manually. I never could figure out how to add the actual emojis into the system.**

**//Butterfly – Oh thank fuck for that. Finally I get some peace and quiet from the emoji spam.**

**//Doe – Bitch please, you clearly underestimate my ability to torture you. ;) :P :)**

**//Raven – LOL.**

**//Butterfly – FFS. No emoji!**

**//Hawk – Uh, quick question, is there any way to turn off the obnoxious noise notification every time a message is sent?**

**//Dragon – Sorry. There should be a mute option in the app settings.**

**//Doe – I agree that it's a little annoying, but it might be a good idea to keep it on, at-least when we're not in the middle of a stealth operation. I don't want anyone to be left unaware in the event that something happens, you know?**

**//Horse – Except for right now, of-course, maybe we should only use this app if we need to talk in an emergency, or when we're on a mission. That way, if it pings then you know to check it immediately.**

**//Dragon – That works for me. I'm the one who's probably going to end up coordinating all of this for the rest of you anyway, since it's my app. I've never been able to stress-test it with other people before so I just hope it doesn't break...**

**//Butterfly – You guys do realise you're already starting to use military language in here, right?**

**//Rabbit – Well, Butterfly's not wrong...**

**//Doe – Fine. We'll communicate like we really are super secret agents if that's what you want so badly.**

**//Butterfly – Well, we are called The Time Warriors. Warrior is another word for Soldier. Soldiers use military language. We're on a top secret mission that requires an encrypted app to talk privately. It just makes sense!**

**//Raven – Okay, now you're just being a fucking smart-ass.**

I snorted and glanced up from my phone. “Guys, before Chloe manages to start a fight, I just realised something. We have code-names for all of us but none for Nathan, Jefferson or Sean Prescott for when we need to reference them on the app. We should probably give one to David too since we're already mentioning him, as-well as you father, Rachel, for when we give him all the evidence we've collected.”

Rachel rubbed her hands together in contemplation. “Well, Nathan's a Sheep obviously. I would've said that Jefferson's a Wolf but since we know Sean Prescott is the true mastermind, that goes to him. So... I guess Jefferson can be a Lion instead. Which leaves David and my father. Hmm. I suppose my father can be an Eagle, and David gets to be... an Owl?”

Chloe chuckled. “I would've given David something much worse that that.”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, those all work for me.”

Brooke cleared her throat. “So, I know you said you're sneaking into the Prescott's mansion tonight, but do really you need us there?”

I shrugged. “Not really, no. I know it sounds complicated and dangerous to do what we're planning but when you have time powers it's fairly simple so we can most likely do it without you guys. However, it might be a good idea for you to come along anyway just for field-training, since we'll definitely need your help at the Vortex Club Party tomorrow night and everything we're doing hinges on getting that right.”

She hummed and nodded in response.

Warren frowned. “Oh right, you said something about Victoria being kidnapped in the original timeline at the Party, right?”

I nodded at him. “Sorry, yeah, we're making sure Jefferson kidnaps me this time instead, preferably without being drugged by Nathan so that I can still use my powers once in the Dark Room. So we'll need you two on over-watch keeping an eye out for him leaving while the rest of us blend into the Party and wait for him to make his move, then once he takes me to his car or whatever, everyone else follows and catches him red-handed.”

Warren just stared at me. “Really? Your plan is to get him to kidnap you? What the hell, Max?”

Chloe snorted. “Don't bother, dude. We already tried, she's dead-set on doing this even if it kills her.”

Brooke grunted. “Please tell me you have a backup plan for if you do end up getting drugged.”

I blinked before glancing awkwardly at Chloe. “Not... really.”

Chloe sighed and wandered over to the gun drawer before opening it. “This is our backup plan. Fill him with bullets. He can't kill all of us at once, right?”

I just silently facepalmed at that.

Warren glanced into the drawer and whistled. “Where the hell did you manage to get four guns from? And onto campus?”

I snorted. “We've been busy. And dude, have you _seen_ Blackwell's security? They don't exist outside of David Madsen. I've been carrying mine to classes the entire time. One of these belongs to David actually, one we confiscated from Nathan and the other two we already stole from Jefferson, one of which was in his desk drawer in the classroom along with a syringe filled with GHB, so you can't exactly blame me for carrying it around when I have a monster for a Photography teacher.”

Warren shook his head exasperatedly. “I guess not, but do you really need the guns, Max?”

I sighed. “Warren, you've barely scratched the surface of the amount of shit I've had to experience since I got my powers. If you knew, then you'd understand the true gravity of the situation like we do; the guns are absolutely necessary.” Then I dead-panned, “In-fact I literally already had to shoot Jefferson myself once this week and would gladly do it again without hesitation.”

My mouth moved faster than my brain, so as soon as it caught up and I realised what I'd said, the memory of what I did popped into my head and a wave of intense disgust came along with it, causing me to dive straight for the trash can so I could be violently sick, barely managing reaching it in time.

Chloe immediately came to my side for support, before looking over her shoulder at Warren. “Pretty much all of us have some kind of scar from Jefferson at this point, and trust me when I say he is as dangerous as we make him out to be. In the original timeline, we always thought Nathan was responsible for what happened to Kate and Rachel. We never saw Jefferson coming until it was too late, and even now that we know, we still keep being taken by surprise.”

Warren glanced down at me and nodded in understanding. “Sorry, Max. I can't even begin to fathom what you've had to go through just to get here.”

I barely managed to grunt in response through my vomiting.

He glanced around the room awkwardly before continuing, “I'm feeling a little useless here now. Do you want me to go into town on a snack run for tonight, or something?”

Rachel moaned at that. “Yes please, we already ate all of Max's coconut bites and I still have the munchies from the high earlier.”

Brooke snorted. “Fine, I'll go with him then. I might actually be able to pick up some extra tech for your raid as-well.

I raised my hand above my head and made a thumbs up sign at them.

They turned to leave, but Victoria spoke up before they could. “I trust that you two understand just how serious this shit is now and you won't go blabbing about this to anyone else like we asked.”

Brooke rolled her eyes. “We may not agree with the guns, but I know ratting you out would only allow Jefferson to continue drugging female students unchecked, and even I'm not that much of a bitch. So we're with you on this, don't worry.”

Victoria nodded, satisfied, and let them leave the room.


End file.
